Only one in 10 patients survive a cardiac arrest outside a hospital, so Rod Milton beat the odds when his heart stopped five times in a matter of days last May. Now he’s back to playing the harp and teaching his Sunday school class.
“I was sitting on the sofa talking to my wife, Leah, when I passed out,” he says, pointing to the spot in his Southlake home where his first cardiac arrest happened. “One minute I was there. The next I was gone.”
A crew of paramedics would revive Rod twice before rushing him to nearby Methodist Southlake Medical Center, a hospital he’s driven past almost daily but had never visited before.
“We didn’t know how much they could do at Methodist Southlake,” he says. “They saved my life. And we’re so thankful to the Lord for using them to do it.”
The 65-year-old father of 10 and grandfather of seven is now back to doing what he loves: spending time with family, teaching Sunday school, and playing the harp —a pastime initiated from his study of the life of King David in the Bible.
A FATEFUL DETOUR
Rod had been feeling tired and achy, so the aviation attorney worked from home that day. Later, he told Leah to go to a wedding they had planned to attend together without him.
When she returned in the evening, Rod was still awake and eager to hear about it. Then came the silence.
“I remember waking up, and my son had propped me up,” Rod says. “Leah was standing over me, telling me that the paramedics were on their way. She thought I had a seizure.”
When the paramedics arrived, the couple requested to be taken to a hospital they were more familiar with. But before the ambulance left the driveway, Rod suffered a second cardiac arrest.
With no time to spare, paramedics rerouted the ambulance to Methodist Southlake, just a half mile from the family’s home.
It was a decision that the couple believes saved Rod’s life.
‘THEY BROUGHT HIM BACK’
When Rod arrived at Methodist Southlake, nurses and doctors were ready because paramedics had called ahead to tell them he was en route.
“The Southlake EMS team did a phenomenal job. They activated us early based on his EKG,” says Matt Fay, MD, cardiologist on the medical staff at Methodist Southlake. “They were concerned it was a heart attack.”
Rod was alert and talking when he arrived, but that’s when he suffered a third cardiac arrest.
“Within moments, he crashed,” Dr. Fay says. “We did chest compressions and shocked him to bring his heart back quickly.”
Leah arrived shortly after and while in the waiting room she heard, “Code Blue, Room 6.”
“I knew it was Rod’s room,” Leah recalls. “I waited for confirmation. Then the staff came out and told me he’d had another cardiac arrest, but they brought him back quickly.”
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COMPLETE HEART BLOCK
Doctors quickly ruled out a heart attack because Rod’s arteries were clear. He was also feverish and shivering, symptoms not typically associated with a classic heart attack.
“We suspected acute myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart,” Dr. Fay explains. “It can cause dangerous arrhythmias, and that’s what was happening to Rod.”
An arrhythmia is an electrical problem with the heart’s rhythm; it may beat too fast, too slow, or irregularly.
Dr. Fay prescribed medication to help stabilize Rod’s heartbeat, but the problems persisted. Eventually, Rod developed complete heart block, where signals between the top and bottom chambers of the heart break down.
“We called in our electrophysiologist, who placed a defibrillator,” Dr. Fay says. “It’s like a pacemaker, but with the ability to shock the heart if a dangerous rhythm returns.”
The surgery was a success, and Rod began his slow but steady recovery.
SPIRITUAL SUPPORT
Rod and Leah say the care they received at Methodist Southlake was extraordinary, and that care extended to emotional and spiritual support.
“Leah was surrounded by a hospital chaplain, our pastor, and numerous church members who prayed with her,” Rod says. “That community was just incredible.”
Leah says she was reassured by nurses and doctors throughout Rod’s nine days at the hospital.
“They never dismissed me,” she says. “They answered every question. Even when Rod called me from his bed during rounds, the doctors stayed on the line to make sure I understood.”
One of the most meaningful moments came when Chaplain David Impwi prayed with Leah, their pastor, and their church family in the waiting room.
“It reminded us that Christ is present — even in the hardest places,” Rod says.
WARM WELCOME
After a few days in inpatient rehab and ongoing outpatient therapy, Rod returned to two of his passions: music and ministry.
“I’ve been playing the harp for six years,” he says. “It was hard to hold my arms up for any length of time at first, but the strength came back.”
Rod has also resumed teaching at Countryside Bible Church in Southlake, and his faith has only been reinforced by this journey.
“I want to give praise to Jesus Christ, not only His care for me but for my salvation through His life, death, burial, and resurrection,” he says, “his substitution of His life for mine.”
Rod’s students in his Steadfast Sunday school class are also grateful for his return.
“The first Sunday I returned, I only went to class — not the full service,” he says. “When I got to the podium, the class gave me an ovation. It was really special.”
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