Pitt Meadows cyclist searches for Good Samaritans who found him during cardiac arrest

A Pitt Meadows man who says his heart stopped for six minutes when he suffered a cardiac arrest while cycling is searching for those who helped him survive.

His heart stopped for six minutes, and he might not have survived if a pair of Good Samaritans hadn’t stepped in to help.

Now he’s hoping to find them.

Paul Craig, a 59-year-old competitive cyclist from Pitt Meadows, is desperately searching for the pair of heroes.

He said he was out on an easy ride along a quiet dike in late September when he started feeling faint.

He fell off his bike and blacked out, suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.

“I knew what was happening. I knew I was dying. The pain was unbelievable,” he recalled.

He tragically understood what was happening because of what had happened to his brother Jim 18 years ago while they were together on a bike ride.

“He was 39 years old at the time. He died of cardiac arrest – in my arms, effectively – while I was doing CPR on him, waiting for the ambulance,” Craig said.

Thankfully, it would be a different outcome for Paul. He said a man and woman found him, called 911, and then the man rode Craig’s bike to the nearest street and brought firefighters back.

“There’s no question in my mind that had the couple not been walking on this dike and had they not found me, I would not be alive today,” he said.

Firefighters worked to save him until an ambulance arrived.

“There was a six-minute period while they were performing CPR, that I was not breathing and had no pulse. I was dead for six minutes,’ Craig said.

Paramedics rushed him to Ridge Meadows Hospital, where he remained for six weeks.

He said the couple who called 911 have no idea how grateful he is to them.

“I don’t even know if the people that found me know that I am alive, and that’s the thing that kind of upsets me,” he told CTV News in an interview Wednesday.

He also said that despite seeing first-hand the overcrowding in the hospital, with patients in the hallways, staff at Ridge Meadows went above and beyond.

“The caregivers and the people in the system are world-class,” he said.

Among those he wanted to thank are Dr. Eilzabeth Lee and Ruby Brar, who is a registered nurse.

Brar said the credit goes to all the staff.

“We all work together, everybody on the floor, like doctors, nurses, health-care aides, housekeeper, everybody. I really appreciate I was part of his journey and I’m very happy that he recovered,” said Brar, when asked about her efforts.

She said following Craig’s traumatic incident, it was understandable that he needed not just medical care, but emotional support as well.

“He felt comfortable with me,” she explained. “I just did my part. I just spent extra time with him, listened to what he needed, which is sometimes very hard when you are busy.”

Craig, who had an internal cardiac defibrillator placed in his chest, said he’s cherishing each moment with his family as he recovers.

He’s particularly close with his late brother’s children, who came to visit him in the hospital.

“I’m very grateful for my life that I got back,” he said, choking back tears.