A Paulding County woman thought her fiance had fallen asleep beside her in bed.
“Apparently I was texting on my phone and she thought I fell asleep and dropped my phone,” Dan Sherrod told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sherrod doesn’t remember the December night. But it’s one his fianceé could never forget. When Gabrielle Hall looked at Sherrod, he was blue and his eyes had rolled back. The 29-year-old wasn’t breathing.
Hall immediately called 911 and, with the help of a 911 dispatcher, began CPR on Sherrod. Within minutes, paramedics arrived and shocked Sherrod’s heart twice until he regained a pulse. All of their efforts saved Sherrod’s life.
“Somebody wanted me still here, because I gave them every reason not to be here,” he said.
LEARN CPR
To find out about CPR classes in your area or online courses, visit the American Heart Association website.
Once he was stabilized, Sherrod was taken to WellStar Paulding hospital and then transferred to WellStar Kennestone, where he remained in the intensive care unit for two weeks. Sherrod’s condition baffled doctors because he had no history of medical problems.
But he did take a medication for ADHD. And the night before, he’d had several beers. The day of his medical emergency, Sherrod drank more water than normal. Doctors speculated the medication, alcohol and excessive water all played a role.
“It was a perfect storm,” Sherrod said. “Honest to God they don’t know what happened still.”
At the hospital, Sherrod was on life support, and doctors prepared his family for the possibility that he had suffered brain damage. He also was diagnosed with MRSA and pneumonia while at Kennestone.
“I was starved of oxygen for a good while,” he said. “I came in there with a less than 10 percent chance of surviving.”
But Sherrod beat the odds. He underwent surgery to have a defibrillator implanted in his chest, and just before Christmas, he was able to return home.
Last month, he was able to return to work. And he had the chance to meet the public safety members who saved his life.
“Humbling,” he said. “To know that those are the people that kept you on the planet.”
It was a team effort to save Sherrod’s life, according to Paulding Fire Chief Joey Pelfrey.
“There is no doubt that the fast thinking family and entire team of public safety personnel including 911 operators, firefighters, deputies and ambulance personnel helped this man survive,” he said.
If not for Hall, Sherrod knows he wouldn’t be alive to tell his story. The two plan to marry in September.
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