DETROIT – It’s been nearly eight months since community activist Malik Shabazz nearly lost his life.
His heart stopped beating after a massive heart attack, but he is alive and recovering and wants everyone to understand why.
Shabazz is a big presence in Detroit and a big voice that was almost silenced when a massive heart attack struck. The team at Henry Ford Hospital truly credits the 45 minutes of CPR as key to his survival.
Related: Detroit working to teach more residents hands-only CPR
He is in a Detroit rehabilitation center when most wouldn’t be here at all, and for the first time, he’s met Henry Ford Health cardiologist Dr. Brittany Fuller.
Shabazz does not remember Fuller; his heart had stopped, but Dr. Fuller will never forget seeing Shabazz.
“You were brought to my cath lab with CPR in progress; your heart was not beating at all,” Fuller recalled. “I put in a heart pump that was not enough, then an ECMO machine; that’s when we were able to stop CPR and fully support your heart.”
Shabazz collapsed at his home; Detroit EMS started CPR, and the CPR didn’t stop until he was brought to Fuller at Henry Ford Hospital. That CPR is the reason he’s still alive.
“I was gone,” Shabazz said. “I was gone a few times; they tell me I was gone 45 minutes, then 19 minutes, then 53 minutes and here I am. Initially, I couldn’t even move my fingers, here I can walk with the walker, praise God. I came in on a stretcher but I’m leaving on my feet.
“It is a little surreal. He is exactly why we do what we do,” Fuller said. “You were not with us; you were clinically dead.”
Fuller said the CPR was paramount in saving him and that without blood flow, he would have suffered permanent damage.
Local 4 wants you to have an opportunity to learn and practice with us. As part of Local 4′s Go 4 It community campaign, we’ve partnered with the City of Detroit for a day of free hands-only CPR training, open to anyone who wants to learn.
Read: Sign up to learn hands-only CPR in Detroit on Feb. 26!
