A second chance at life

Dave and Sarah Hummel are busy people. Between social obligations, professional commitments, and family life, their calendar is almost always full. In fact, life had become so hectic that the couple did not even have time to celebrate their 26th wedding anniversary on April 8.

So, four days later, on Sunday, April 12, they decided it was finally time to slow down and celebrate. Better late than never.

“We just wanted a day to ourselves,” Sarah recalled. “Nothing fancy, just to spend some time together.”

Sarah made chicken, sausage, and lentil soup for dinner, the couple relaxed and watched a little television and eventually headed upstairs for bed. It was quiet, comfortable, and ordinary, until suddenly it wasn’t.

Shortly after Dave began to drift off to sleep, Sarah noticed him making unusual sounds. At first, she thought he might simply be having a bad dream.

“I kept trying to wake him up,” she said. “And when he wouldn’t wake up, I shook him but noticed he was struggling to breathe.”

She yelled for her son, David, who was in the next room. Although Sarah did not understand exactly what was happening, she knew Dave was in serious trouble. She instructed her son to begin chest compressions while she called 911. Soon after, her oldest son, Cyrus, heard the commotion and rushed in to help, taking turns performing CPR.

In those terrifying moments, Sarah believed she was watching her husband die. Dave’s color changed. His body became limp and lifeless.

“That’s when I realized, we don’t have this,” said Sarah. “We need help right now, it cannot wait.”

A neighbor comes running

Then she remembered something that suddenly felt like a lifeline: Her neighbor across the street, Mary Beth, was a surgeon. A dental surgeon, yes, but at that moment, any medical expertise mattered.

Without hesitation, Sarah ran out of the house in her pajamas and bare feet and sprinted across the street. It was around 10:30 p.m., but she pounded on the neighbor’s front door as hard as she could.

After quickly explaining what was happening, Mary Beth immediately ran past her toward the Hummels’ home.

“I remember seeing her running in her red robe,” Sarah said. “She was like a superhero.”

When she arrived, the boys were doing chest compressions with Dave on the bed. Mary Beth immediately instructed them to move him to the floor and took over CPR until paramedics arrived.
The family was then asked to wait downstairs while emergency crews worked. The minutes felt endless.

Then came a moment no one expected.

One of the EMTs walked downstairs wearing what Sarah described as a confused expression. Dave, he explained, was awake, talking, and even offering to walk himself down the stairs to the ambulance.

And remarkably, that is exactly what happened.

A lifesaving diagnosis

Dave was initially transported to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, the closest hospital to the family’s home, before being transferred to Sentara Heart Hospital, where he came under the care of Div Patel, M.D., a cardiac electrophysiologist.

Dr. Patel explained, "He had cardiac arrest. He had an electrical abnormality that caused a fast heart rhythm from the bottom chamber known as ventricular fibrillation."

Dr. Patel also confirmed what the family witnessed.

"And so, in the process of cardiac arrest some patients can have a faint pulse, and they can seize or they can look different and they can die. He did die."

To help regulate and protect Dave’s heart moving forward, Dr. Patel determined he would need a defibrillator implanted.

Looking back now, Dave’s survival seems nothing short of extraordinary. Because of Sarah’s quick thinking, the immediate chest compressions performed by his sons and neighbor, and what the family describes as a tremendous amount of faith, Dave suffered no neurological damage from the event.

“It really was a chain of people doing exactly the right thing at exactly the right time,” Sarah said. “Everybody just stepped in.”

A new perspective

But what caused the cardiac arrest in the first place? According to Dr. Patel, it may have been the result of several factors building over time. Dave admits he had grown frustrated with his CPAP machine for his sleep apnea and stopped using it. He had previously been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and was not consistently taking his medication.

“You know, I’m Generation X,” said Dave. “We don’t complain, we just plow through and move on no matter what.”

Everything changed after April 12.

Now, Dave says he is back on track and doing extraordinarily well. More importantly, he wants others to learn from his experience. He openly shares his story whenever he can, hoping it might encourage someone else to pay attention to their health before it is too late.

As a matter of fact, on May 15, at the American Heart Association’s Heart Ball, Dave was one of three people presented with the Caretaker of the Torch Award for overcoming a cardiovascular challenge. The recognition is given to individuals who embody the American Heart Association’s mission of improving heart health through leadership, advocacy, and inspiration.

For the Hummel family, the honor carries even deeper meaning. Just weeks earlier, they nearly lost everything.

"I just feel so grateful,” Sarah shared. “It gives us a new appreciation for each other. That could have been ripped away from us.”