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Stuck in a Storm, He Has a Heart Attack. But Right Place. Right Time. Right Team.

July 22, 2018

In 2012, just as Storm Sandy bore down upon the state of Connecticut, Howard Gaynor found himself stranded at Hartford Hospital, unable to return to his North Granby home following a routine biopsy for a skin lesion.

“I was still in the hospital,” he said. “Nobody could go home because of the roads being closed.”

Severe weather prompted Connecticut’s governor to forbid traffic on the state’s roads for all but the most urgent of needs. Howard’s hospital release following this routine procedure was delayed.

At that moment, Howard’s health began to take an unexpected turn. He suffered a massive heart attack.

“Basically, I had begun the dying process,” he said.

Call it fortuitous, but because he was still at Hartford Hospital, Howard was in the right place at the right time with the right team of doctors by his side.

Doctors from Hartford HealthCare’s Heart & Vascular Institute rushed to his aid and assessed the situation. It was dire. They determined that a newly, specialized heart pump to restore blood flow would be of great benefit to Howard. But this pump was so new that it had not yet received approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Intervening with the FDA on behalf of their dying patient, the clinical team was successful in their plea to the federal agency to allow its use to save his life. The pump was in hand within hours.

Today, Howard is grateful to have time with his family, appreciating the additional birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and milestones he’s been able to share with them.

“Without that device and those people who came to my rescue, I would’ve died,” Howard said. “If I had died then, I wouldn’t know our new granddaughter. It just wasn’t my time. I got lucky and I’m still here.”

Hartford HealthCare is a national leader in heart and vascular disease prevention, treatment and research. Learn more here.