Ottawa man wakes up days after heart attack with no memory, sets out to find mystery woman who saved his life

Tommy Chan, a man from Ottawa, doesn’t remember anything from May 20, but thanks to GPS data, a smartwatch, and the kindness of strangers, the 39-year-old now knows he nearly died during a routine run, and that a group of bystanders, including a nurse practitioner, helped bring him back. Chan says he went for a five-kilometer run that evening, though he has no memory of doing so. He later woke up at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and was told he had suffered a heart attack. "I don't even remember the massage therapy or going to class beforehand. I just know nothing about what happened that day, or the next four," Chan told CBC News.

Chan’s memory loss is not unusual. According to findings from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, many survivors face difficulties recalling events before or after the incident, a result of the brain being deprived of oxygen while the heart is stopped. After being discharged, Chan began piecing the day together using his running app, Strava, and data from his Garmin smartwatch. He saw that he completed his run around 7:50 p.m. near Bronson and Carling. Then, suddenly, all readings from his watch stopped, and his heart rate chart went blank. According to Ottawa paramedics, they received a call at 8:50 p.m. and found him in cardiac arrest near the intersection of Carling and Champagne avenues. 

Ottawa Fire Services used a defibrillator to deliver a shock, and emergency crews were eventually able to restore a regular rhythm. Before any of that, bystanders had begun CPR, guided by 911 communication officers over the phone. Chan says his ribs were broken during CPR, a painful but life-saving result. "If I were a Good Samaritan, that would be cool to know that this person is doing OK," he said. Wanting to thank the people who helped him, he posted online with the headline: "Did you save my life?"

That post led him to Tawnya Shimizu, a nurse practitioner who had been driving with her daughter that evening. They spotted a commotion and saw a man lying unconscious. "I could hear the 9-1-1 operator giving directions on CPR and counting out the timing. So my daughter was immediately like, 'Mommy, you're a nurse. You need to help!'" Shimizu said. She took over CPR until emergency services arrived, claiming she went into "work mode," and only after the ambulance left did she realize she had no idea what became of him. "It's definitely weighed on our minds, to kind of wonder if he was OK and if he survived," she said.

Dr. Simon Hansom, director of the Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, said quick intervention is critical. "Bystander CPR is the number one thing you can do to save people. If someone's had a cardiac arrest, you're not going to make them any worse than they already are," he said. After connecting online, Chan, Shimizu, and her daughter arranged to meet in person over the weekend. Chan also had the chance to thank her live on CBC Radio’s Ottawa Morning. "The biggest thank you. I don't know what else to say. Like, I can't believe you were at the right place at the right time. So I don't know how I can ever repay you," Chan said. Shimizu replied, "You're very welcome. I think everyone who helped you that day just did it because that's human nature."