On Saturday, July 25, Bob Keating and Mike Erdelsky met for an early morning run outside their Dublin neighborhood–something the friends and Honda co-workers have done numerous times over the years. The run was cut short, however, when Erdelsky collapsed near the end of the run from a near-fatal heart attack.
More than six weeks later, Erdelsky is back on his feet, thanks to Keating’s quick thinking and decisive action.
“There have been a lot of scary moments and all that didn’t dissipate until I finally heard his voice and I was overwhelmed with joy,” said Keating. “I just did what needed done.”
Erdelsky has a clean bill of health but with very little memory of the incident.
“The cardiac arrest was so severe and with all the shock, I actually have no memory from that day,” he said.
Friends, neighbors and co-workers
Keating and Erdelsky, both in their early 50s, have been working at Honda since the late 1980s. Keating is a 1985 Marysville High School graduate. Erdelsky came from Pennsylvania.
“We’ve been friends and neighbors for about 15 years now,” Erdelsky said. “That’s about how long we’ve been running as well.”
The two men met in 2003 while working in the same department at Honda. They currently work in the new models section.
“Most of the running we do is on the local bicycle path or on the streets,” Erdelsky said. “We usually do group running and all kinds of different activities.”
Erdelsky said they run multiple times a week and have been going that often since they started. He added he also had no prior heart condition and up until the attack on July 25, had no other symptoms indicating anything might happen.
Saturday morning
“We planned on meeting at about 7 a.m. that Saturday morning for an easy five-mile fun,” Keating said.
“And then about four miles into the five-mile run, Mike said he felt a tightness in his chest.”
The two continued running for another half a mile, making it back onto residential streets where Erdelsky stopped for a second time, complaining about similar but more severe symptoms.
“Mike collapsed right there on the street,” said Keating. “He immediately had what I perceived to be seizures.”
Having no phone himself and not knowing his friend did, Keating yelled for help several times before neighbors responded. By then, Erdelsky had stopped breathing and began foaming at the mouth, according to Keating.
He began applying CPR (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation), focusing on the chest compressions rather than the breathing resuscitation.
“I did chest compressions for what felt like an eternity but in hindsight probably wasn’t all that long,” Keating said.
Medics arrived on the scene and tended to Erdelsky who needed continuous chest compressions and defibrillator shock. He was immediately rushed to Dublin Methodist Hospital.
“The doctors found blockage from doing a cardiac catheter. I had 90% blockage of the LAD (left anterior descending artery),” Erdelsky said. “They told me I was one of the lucky ones.”
Importance of training
Erdelsky said the doctors told him a series of fortunate events led to his survival–something not typical of the type of cardiac incident he experienced: CPR was performed right away, the runners decided to leave the wooded running area and return to the neighborhood, and paramedics were able to reach the scene quickly and take Erdelsky straight to the hospital.
Keating said his ability to help his friend came from CPR training sessions the two had taken while at Honda.
“I’ve had various exposures to various kinds of first-aid and CPR training,” he said. “Within the past few years, Honda offered some CPR and first-aid training that I was able to take part in.”
He said he actually isn’t officially certified in the CPR training but knew enough of the technique and how to properly apply it to step in.
“I would encourage everyone to get the training,” he added. “You just never know when you might need to use it.”
Erdelskly echoed the statement saying Keating’s training helped to save his life.
“I’m forever grateful to Bob and what he did. I really encourage people to get the first-aid and CPR training,” he said. “Without that, I might not be here.”
Erdelsky and Keating met over the weekend for their first run together in eight weeks.