‘Miracle Man' thanks first responders who saved his life after a heart attack
A half dozen paramedics, dispatchers and first responders stood in line to meet Preuss and his family, each getting a big hug from him. Thursday was the first time they have met since his cardiac arrest more than a year ago.
'This is a very healing process for us, finally seeing everybody,' Preuss, 61, said of the meeting at Virginia Beach's emergency services headquarters.
On the morning of October 21, 2023, Preuss, a Virginia Beach resident, had a sudden heart attack in his home. His wife Lisa and his son Tyler immediately called 911, and staff at the Emergency Communications center guided her through chest compressions. Within just six minutes of her call, first responders were at the Preuss residence.
After the EMTs arrived, they quickly worked to save Preuss. He said paramedics used defibrillators on his chest eight times and administered epinephrine, or adrenaline, five times to help revive him. The first responders introduced a LUCAS machine, a mechanical chest compression device, into the mix, as well.
During cardiac arrests, time is of the essence. CPR helps keep the heart pumping and oxygen moving through the body. Within minutes of no oxygen, there is a risk for brain damage. Once the brain is damaged, prognosis can quickly become grim. Resuscitation efforts were continued for more than half an hour before Preuss's pulse was back.
Lisa Preuss, through tears, said she and her family have thought of those first responders, doctors and nurses every day and prayed for their safety. David Preuss said the time with his family since that day has been 'a road I never thought I'd travel again.'
Lisa Preuss becomes emotional as her husband, David, shares the story of the day he went into cardiac arrest at his home in 2023 at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. The Preuss family wanted to personally thank the team of first responders who helped save David's life. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Donna Lynn, a volunteer EMT with VB Rescue, shows the heart pin on her identification badge at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Lynn was part of the team credited with saving David Preuss' life when he went into cardiac arrest in 2023 and it was the call where she earned her heart pin for the life-saving measures she performed. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Donna Lynn, a volunteer EMT with VB Rescue, smiles as David Preuss tells his story and extends a heartfelt thank you to the first responders who helped save his life at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Lynn was part of the team credited with saving Preuss' life when he went into cardiac arrest in 2023. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) David Preuss looks on as the first responders credited with saving his life enter the room at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Preuss went into cardiac arrest in 2023, entered into multiple organ failure and was placed into a medically-induced coma but has since made a full recovery. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Lisa Preuss embraces Mathew Grant at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Grant was a 9-1-1 dispatcher at the time Preuss' husband, David, went into cardiac arrest in 2023. Grant walked Lisa and her son, Tyler, through performing CPR on David and kept her on track by counting the compressions. After going into multiple organ failure and being put into a medically-induced coma, David made a full recovery. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Lisa Preuss blows a thank-you kiss to Mathew Grant at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Grant was a 9-1-1 dispatcher at the time Preuss' husband, David, went into cardiac arrest in 2023. Grant walked Lisa and her son, Tyler, through performing CPR on David and kept her on track by counting the compressions. After going into multiple organ failure and being put into a medically-induced coma, David made a full recovery. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Lisa Henderson, friend and coworker of David Preuss, becomes emotional as he shares his story to the first responders who helped save his life at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) David Preuss' son Tyler looks at his dad as he shares his story and extends a heart-felt thank you to the first responders who helped save his life at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Lisa Preuss holds hands with Donna Lynn, a volunteer EMT with VB Rescue, at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Lynn was part of the team credited with saving her husband, David Preuss', life when he went into cardiac arrest in 2023. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) David Preuss stands with his wife, Lisa, and son, Tyler, as he shares his story and extends a thank you to the first responders who helped save his life at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Preuss went into cardiac arrest in 2023, entered into multiple organ failure and was placed into a medically-induced coma but has since made a full recovery. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot) Show Caption1 of 11David Preuss shakes hands with Daniel Meller, a captain with Virginia Beach Fire Department engine five, at Virginia Beach Department of Emergency Medical Services headquarters on Thursday, March 27, 2025. Meller was part of the team credited with saving Preuss' life when he went into cardiac arrest in 2023. (Kendall Warner / The Virginian-Pilot)Expand
'While I lay unconscious, (first responders) showed compassion to my family,' David Preuss said. '(Their) dedication to the profession isn't just a job. It's a gift that ripples through families and communities. Every shift, every call, every patient matters.'
While at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, his lungs collapsed, one of his kidneys began to fail. His blood had gone septic, so the ICU placed him under a medically induced hypothermia, or a coma, for two days.
'My body seemed determined to give up,' David Preuss said.
But the staff would not let that happen, he said. During his stay, they called him 'The Miracle Man,' and David Preuss said he is thankful to each person that became part of his healing journey. Donna Lynn, a volunteer EMT with Virginia Beach Volunteer Rescue Squad, received a heart pin for her role in performing life-saving CPR.
'When (first responders) arrived, I wasn't exactly present, but every breath I take now, every moment I share with my family — that shouldn't exist,' David Preuss said. 'It all came from (their) ability to make all the right decisions that morning. But what I want (responders) to know is that their impact extends far beyond just saving my life or not. (They) saved a family, a son from losing a father, a wife from losing her husband… They didn't just save a patient, they saved a family.'
Eliza Noe, eliza.noe@virginiamedia.com
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