Cookeville Fireman Brought Back from Second Heart Attack by 'Band of Angels'

At 1 p.m. on Oct. 9, firefighter and paramedic Mike Phillips suffered a heart attack while riding back from a call on a fire truck.

The truck was three minutes from Cookeville Regional Medical Center and he was taken immediately to the ER.

At 9 p.m. that night the firefighter had successful quadruple by-pass surgery.

Then a few weeks later on Sunday, Dec. 22, while visiting the fire station to do some recuperative tread-mill work, Mike keeled over in a second heart attack.

"I was working at the hospital when we got the call," said his wife, Patti, who is a patient representative for the Cookeville Regional Medial Center Emergency Room.

"All I heard them say was they 'were working a code' which is what they say when someone is clinically dead. I fell apart at that point and never heard the follow up comment that they had gotten a pulse back," she said.

Three of the firefighters at the firestation had worked together to restart Mike's heart and with their training and the help of a defibrillator on one of the trucks, the men were successful.

"We don't talk about heroes much in this job. We just do what has to be done. But I have to tell you that those men are my heroes. It was like having a band of angels all around you," Mike said.

According to Phillips, Paramedic Mike Lynch analyzed the situation and determined what needed to be done, EMT firefighter Chris Holmes handled the IV and respirator, and First Responder Lt. Mike Broyles continued chest compressions until Mike could breath on his own again.

"It was a very involved situation. The three of them were doing everything that needs to be done. They did a great job under intense circumstances. I can't say enough about them. There's no way I can ever thank them as much as they deserve," Phillips said.

As a paramedic himself, Mike knew what expertise it took to bring him back.

In fact, on October 9 he diagnosed his own symptoms and directed the fire truck to the ER.

The second attack had nothing to do with his by-pass surgery. This time, the electrical system in Mike's heart failed. When Mike lost consciousness, his fellow firefighters restarted his heart within a minute.

On Monday Mike was taken to Baptist Hospital in Nashville. On Tuesday he had a miniature defibrillator installed in his chest.

"A defibrillator is a self-contained computerized deal that constantly monitors heart activity. It's been programmed to recognize heart beat patterns that are symptomatic of something wrong. It can work like a pacemaker to make the heart beat again, or if it sees a different rhythm, it will send a shock to the heart," he said.

Mike's private defibrillator is about two inches square and three eighths of an inch thick and rests just under the skin near his heart.

"I definitely know it's there," he said.

How will he know if his heart beat needs readjusting?

"They say it will feel like a kick from a mule," he said.

On Wednesday, Dec. 25, Mike was released just in time for a very special Christmas.

"Coming home was good," he said.

Mike joined the Cookeville Fire Department on June 16, 1986 as an answer to a dream.

"I always wanted to do it, but I spent a few years trying other things first. Then, in '86, I realized if I wanted to do it I'd better get a start. I became a rookie firefighter with no experience behind me at all."

Will the 46-year-old be able to continue working as a firefighter?

"The doctors have told me there's a good possibility that I'll be fit enough to go back to work. We'll just have to see how the healing goes.

"I've been very lucky...very lucky," he said. "I was probably in the best place I could have been both times. Early intervention made the difference in both cases."

For Cookeville Fire Chief Gene Schmid, having Phillips back was a blessing in itself and a vindication of the ongoing training expected by firefighters here.

"Something like this was exactly the reason we've given this level of training to our firefighters," he said.

"Everything worked the way we hoped it would. The men did exactly what they were trained to do. But they told me it was totally different to be working on one of your own than on a stranger.

"Within less than a minute they had a pulse and he was breathing on his own. I wish we could save everyone this way," Schmid said.