CPR Gives Man Chance at Life, After Death

An old adage known as Murphy's Law states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

No one knows that better than Nancy and John Murphy, the Merrimack couple jokes. But for all those times in their lives that things have gone wrong, things couldn't have gone more right on Aug. 12.

That was the day they helped save their friend's life.

CPR and an AED Saved His Life

It's a day Carol Mullan and John and Nancy Murphy will never forget and at the same time, one Mike Mullan will likely never remember.

Just after 9:30 a.m., Mike Mullan was getting ready for the gym, his wife Carol was working in her home office just off the kitchen. Carol says she heard her husband take in a couple deep breaths, like he does during an acid reflux attack, and then moments later he crashed to the floor.

Carol ran to her husband, lifeless on the kitchen tile, and realized that he was in big trouble. She yelled to her son James to run across the street and get the Murphys. Nancy has a background in nursing and Carol knew Nancy knows CPR.

John Murphy and his son-in-law Tim were doing yard work at the time and ran over to assist. When John realized that Mike was not only unresponsive, but had no pulse or respiration, he yelled at Tim to run and get Nancy.

“I check his pulse and he was definitely sleeping well,” John said.

He started compressions yelling at Carol to call 9-1-1. She already had them on the line.

Nancy was at the house "in what seemed like three leaps" she said. She came in the house and Mike was in the supine position, looking sort of like Leonardo da Vinci's drawing of the Virtruvian Man, John said.

“Again it was like the perfect scenario,” Nancy said. “He was on a cold floor, hard, he was already on his back, so we didn't need to move him.”

“He was clearly no longer with us,” she said, confirming what her husband had assessed.

Nancy started respirations while her husband continued compressions. When the ambulance arrived, they used an automatic external defibrillator and gave Mike two jolts and a shot of epinephrine to get his heart started again.

Sitting around the Mullans' kitchen table on a recent Tuesday, both couples could laugh and joke about what was an extremely grave situation, but on Aug. 12, no one was laughing.

Mike suffered a cardiac arrest. Different from a heart attack in that there wasn't a problem with his arteries but rather, it was like someone flipped an electrical switch and shut off his heart.

For the span of several minutes, Mike Mullan, 59, was dead.

11 Days in the Hospital

It was scary that first night in the hospital, Carol said. The ambulance took him from Brenda Lane just after 10 a.m. And by 4 p.m., the doctors at had dropped Mike's body temperature to 32 degrees celsius, a technique that helps reduce damage to the brain and heart, Carol said.

She was told for the first 24 hours, no news was good news.

“My heart dropped when the phone rang the next morning,” Carol said.

But it was good news. It was 9 a.m., just barely 24 hours since he'd hit the floor, and Mike was awake.

The first couple days were tough. Mike's memory was not working very well and he was repeating himself a lot, but he was awake and talking not 24 hours after having temporarily left this Earth.

“Statistically, most people that this happens to, don't make it,” Nancy Murphy said. “Everything that had to fall into place, did.”

Doctors and nurses for the first couple days came in and out of Mike's room to see him with their own eyes, Carol said. They couldn't really believe he was doing so well.

“One nurse asked, 'How does it feel to look at a miracle?'” Nancy said.

He spent 11 days in the hospital, but he only remembers six. The first five days have been expunged from his memory. But given the potential for serious brain damage or death, Mike will take the five day lapse.

Life after death

During his stay at St. Joseph, Mike had a pace maker/defibrillator surgically implanted just above his heart and he's seriously limited in his day-to-day life ­not by choice.

“I'm not the type of person to sit around and do nothing, but that's all I've been doing,” Mike said.

In fact, in the days leading up to his cardiac arrest, Mike, who retired from his job at Anheuser-Busch two years ago, was busy removing an above ground pool from his back yard.

Pre-cardiac arrest, Mike was known to frequent the gym three to four times a week. He eats healthier than his friends and family and he's always active.

There could be a genetic link, he said, but the most frustrating thing for him is not knowing the cause.

“I'd be much better off if I knew why this happened,” Mike said. “That's the only thing that bothers me.”

If it were up to him, he'd be back at the gym and living the life he's come to know. Instead, he's been relegated to keeping a low profile.

He cannot drive for the time being and he has a book he intends to read very closely, as it outlines the things he can and cannot use now that he has a small defibrillator wired to his heart. He cannot use a chainsaw, he needs to use caution around electric dog fences and he's been advised to use his cell phone on the right ear.

But given what happened, these things are a small price to pay for the fact that the only lasting effects from the events of the morning of Aug. 12 are a five-day memory lapse.

CPR Saves Lives

The Murphys and the Mullans will tell anyone who asks, CPR can be the difference between life and death.

CPR classes are offered frequently by the American Red Cross and both couples recommend taking a course to anyone who can. Nancy also touted the importance of portable AEDs, which almost anyone can use, she said.

There are people who know CPR but are afraid to use it because they are afraid to do more harm than good, Nancy said.

"People are afraid that they might do more damage (attempting CPR) but you can't make it worse if they're already dead.” Nancy said.

She hasn't taken a CPR class in years, and while the instructions have changed somewhat, the basics are the important part, the former nurse said. Even if you don't want to do respirations, performing compressions are better than nothing, she added

“The more people that know it, the better,” Nancy said. “Anyone could have done this.”

Going back to her right place, right time scenario, Nancy pointed out that what was more remarkable was how everyone managed to stay calm and collected.

“The whole amazing part of it is you realize after the fact that Mike really was dead and how something so simple, that anyone can do, saved his life,” Nancy said.

Friends and neighbors for 25 years, Mike's brush with death has become further fodder for their good-natured relationship. Carol can joke that Mike's cousins have nicknamed him Lazarus; Nancy can rib him about how she hopes she didn't ruin his shot at a quick, painless death, and they laugh.

But the seriousness behind what happened that August morning, not even a month after Mike's 59th birthday, is not lost on any of them.

“It wasn't my time,” Mike said. “When the big boy calls you, you go. It just wasn't my time … It's crazy you know? What do you say to the people who saved your life? Thank you? I mean, I'm not a big word guy.”

The American Red Cross offers frequent CPR and AED training in Nashua and Manchester. Get more information about the classes scheduled between now and the end of the year. 

Additionally, Merrimack's indoor playground, is hosting a CPR certification class at its 746 Daniel Webster Highway Facility on Monday, Sept. 26. Call 429-2200 to register for your spot in the class.