ORLANDO, FLA. (WSVN) - Thirty-five-year-old Markeem Middleton reunited with the team of doctors and nurses who saved his life. The Miami resident was out exercising during a trip to Orlando when he fell short of breath and briefly passed out.
Fire rescue rushed him to a hospital, where he went into cardiac arrest 11 times.
It was nothing short of a miracle that he survived and the medical team that saved him made sure to keep up with his health every step of the way.
“Even when he wasn’t in our care anymore and had gone on to RMC, we were constantly checking on him,” said Stephanie Calderella, assistant nurse manager. “How’s he doing is he doing okay? Like we were all so invested in this.”
The doctors at Orlando Health said Middleton suffered a massive pulmonary embolism and luckily he was taken to the exact place he needed to be to survive.
“For him, the time he came to the hospital to the whole thing, everything fell in place rightly and with our team and everything else we were able to take care of it,” said Sumith Aleti, a cardiologist.
Now, the members on that medical team and fire rescue crew are being recognized for their heroic efforts with the Lifesaver Award.
As for how Middleton has been doing since then.
“I feel good. I know biggest thing everybody’s told me is to make sure I take my time, don’t rush. I’m usually a go getter, so I go, go, go, so it’s hard for me to slow down,” he said.
He said he was glad to be able to thank each of them personally and said he’s still working through the ordeal he experienced.
“To be honest, it’s still something i’m still continuing to process,” he said. “I don’t think anyone can necessarily understand what it’s like to go through something like that or to like literally die, let alone nine times, so it’s something I’ve still been processing.”
The doctors and nurses said it was surreal seeing how far Middleton has come and they’re very happy to see him making his way back to a normal life.
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