Pulled from freezing rapids, Jesse’s heart stopped

The minute after Jesse was pulled out of the water, his heart stopped. 

The first responders immediately started CPR and got Jesse into a helicopter. En route they switched to an automated CPR device to keep his heart pumping until they could reach the only hospital with the equipment and specialists needed to save his life—VGH.

At VGH, notified ahead of time by SAR and BC Ambulance, the medical teams were prepared to immediately take Jesse into the OR.

“Jesse arrived in full cardiac arrest, and had been for two and a half hours,” says Dr. George Isac, Medical Director of the VGH ICU. “He had profound hypothermia. We have an algorithm to determine these levels, and his was at the worst.”

With his heart stopped, the team placed Jesse on ECMO—a portable heart-lung machine that circulates and oxygenates a patient’s blood and then re-infuses it. 

This life-saving, donor-funded device keeps organs functioning while medical teams continue their work.

“It was a race to get him stabilized,” says Dr. Isac. “He was metabolically deranged. He had collapsed lungs. There was swelling in his right arm and abdomen that required multiple operations to address.”

“To put it simply, Jesse could only come to VGH for this level of care.”  – Dr. Isac

Jesse underwent dialysis, was put on ventilators and ECMO, and finally, after several days, his heart function was restored. At VGH, Jesse received care from ICU, trauma services, cardiac, vascular, orthopedic and plastic surgical teams, the anesthesia team, perfusionists, hematologists, psychiatrists and more. 

Sixteen days after he arrived at VGH, Jesse was able to be transferred out of hospital. He was stable, and set on the path to recovery.

Living a renewed life

“I’m forever grateful to the Search and Rescue team, the people who helped me at VGH and all those involved in my care and recovery.” – Jesse

Jesse is well on his way to recovery. He describes himself sitting around 75 percent of what he used to be like. But perhaps the biggest change since the accident is Jesse’s perspective. He knows firsthand how fleeting life can be, and how it can all change in an instant. 

With that in mind, he’s re-prioritized his life.

“I got engaged when I got out of the hospital,” says Jesse. “After all that, it just made sense for me. I could barely walk to the jeweller, but I did it, and I proposed.”

Never one to let his fears keep him down, Jesse has also returned to the waters. In August, he went on his first fishing trip since the accident. And while he recognizes he still has a long way to go, he’s grateful for the opportunity to rebuild his life.

“I survived a nightmare,” says Jesse. “But I’m getting through it. With my family, my friends and my fiancée. Life is good.”