CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. – September 24, 2023 was a typical Sunday morning for 54-year-old Chris Schornak and his 18-year-old daughter Karley.
The pair headed out for a run along a familiar route near their home in New Baltimore, Mich.
“That particular day, we’re going to do eight miles,” said Chris Schornak. “All of a sudden, at seven and a half miles, I got really winded and I passed out and hit the ground, busted my head open.”
Karley raced to her dad’s side.
“I was ahead of him, and then I turned around when he called me, and I saw him on the ground, and so I just sprinted to him,” remembered Karley. “His head was bleeding. He was having trouble breathing.”
They initially thought Chris might have suffered a head injury.
Chris told Karley to call her mom, but not an ambulance. She didn’t listen.
“I called the ambulance and he was like, in and out saying, ‘You don’t need to call the ambulance,’ and I was like, ‘No, I’m calling the ambulance,’ and so I let them know where we were at,” said Karley.
Chris was wearing a watch that monitored his heart rate. Karley noticed his heart rate was just 39, far too low for someone who had just been running.
“I was like, ‘Something’s not right,’” said Karley. “It crossed my mind, I was like, ‘Am I gonna have to do CPR?’”
The ambulance arrived and rushed Chris to Henry Ford Health Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township.
“When they got into the hospital, I said, ‘Well, what’s wrong with me?” said Chris. “And they said, ‘Sir, you’re having a heart attack.’ And I said, ‘I had a heart attack?’ They’re like, ‘No, you’re having one right now.’”
It was a total shock to Chris, who was in great shape and considered himself very healthy.
As the staff prepared to take Chris to the cath lab, he had a moment with his wife and children.
“I said, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ And I said, ‘Don’t be mad at God and remember the words that I’ve taught you and all the things I’ve said,’ and then I went into surgery, and I said to the doctor, ‘Save my life. I’ve got four kids. I gotta be here for them.’”
That doctor was Dr. Subhi Sbahi, the director of interventional cardiology at Henry Ford Health Macomb Hospital.
“We took him to the cath lab. He had a completely blocked right coronary artery. We opened it with a stent, and he did very well,” said Sbahi.
That would be an understatement.
“I had a heart attack on Sunday, and then seven days later, I went back out and I ran. I ran very slow and with the doctor’s permission,” said Chris.
He hasn’t stopped running since.
“Two months later, we ran the 5k Turkey Trot downtown Detroit,” said Chris.
“Chris is doing marvelous,” said Sbahi. “He is the textbook picture of the patient you want outcome-wise. He’s doing great and he’s happy and he’s very involved which is very good.”
Chris is now determined to make a difference.
“I got a second chance at life and over the last couple of months, I’ve started a cardiac patient-led support group for people who have had heart attacks called Second Chances. And we’ve had several meetings now over the last two months,” said Chris.
Chris encourages everyone age 50 and up to talk to their doctor about their heart health and at least get a stress test.
He also wants to make sure everyone realizes how critical it is to learn hands-only CPR.
As a Navy veteran, Chris prided himself on preparing his children for emergencies, mounting fire extinguishers on the wall in his home and even running surprise fire drills with fake smoke and disorienting strobe lights.
“This is a blind spot. I don’t have them trained in CPR,” said Chris. “Yeah, I know how to do CPR. I’ve been trained a dozen times. But I never trained them.”
Now the whole Schornak family is learning.
“You never expect those moments, but you can prepare for them,” said Karley. “It’s so important.”
“We recommend that everybody has to have at least CPR training,” said Sbahi.
That’s because if your heart stops beating, every second counts.
“You have only 5,10 minutes before there’s brain damage that’s irreversible. So, yes, CPR is very essential, and most of the people who make it, have had CPR by a family member or coworker or bystander,” said Sbahi.
Chris is forever grateful that Karley was by his side that fateful day.
“She saved my life,” said Chris. “I told her afterwards, I said, ‘You know, every parent wants to know, did they raise their kids right?’ And I thought I wouldn’t get the answer to that question until she got married and had kids of her own. But on that day when it counted, she stayed calm, cool and collected, did all the right things and she saved my life, and Dr. Sbahi saved my life.”
“I am just so overwhelmed by gratitude and emotions,” said Karley. “He’s here still.”
“I give her a hug every day,” said Chris.
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. You can find more information on the free event here.
To learn more about the “Second Chances - Heart Attack Support - Metro Detroit” Group, visit their Facebook page.
We want to honor those making a difference. Click here to nominate someone who’s Going 4 It in your community. We’ll be featuring your nominees every month on Local 4 and ClickOnDetroit.