‘Learn CPR’ Urges Survivor

COURT HOUSE – “Learn CPR, it can save lives” may sound like a commercial, but for Steve Holler, of Court House, it was reality as a 911 dispatcher coached his wife through it when his heart stopped several weeks ago.
Norma Holler said she “knew something wasn’t right when I heard this noise and saw that Steve wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t conscious. I called 911 and the dispatcher, Dave Atkinson, asked me if I knew CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation). I didn’t know it, so he talked me through it.”
It was “30 pushes and breaths” before Middle Township Patrolman Mike Pastore arrived and used an automatic defibrillator to shock Holler’s heart and continue performing CPR until paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMT) arrived, according to Holler.
“It’s actually the first time I had to shock someone with the paddles and they came through it and are fine today,” Pastore said. He estimated he’s done CPR over 100 times, including during his four-year stint in the Marines, five years with the county Sheriff’s Department, and years as a member of the Rio Grande Rescue Squad and Green Creek Fire Company, which he joined as a teenager.
He also is the lead first-aid and CPR instructor at the Cape May County Police Academy.
“I’d like to think anyone who arrived at the scene would have done what I did,” he added. “It’s good to be at the root of something positive, especially in this day and age when there is so much negativity about police.”
Pastore said CPR is done “probably once or twice a month” by the Middle Township Police Department, and “very rarely do we have a situation where someone’s heart has stopped like Steve’s. For all intent purposes, he was dead.”
Teaching CPR since 2011, Pastore said staff from all county police departments and recruits from neighboring counties attend the Police Academy for CPR training.
In addition, a Citizens Police Academy is held to introduce workings of a police department to the general public. “We also teach CPR as part of that program to regular citizens,” he said.
Pastore said Holler’s family has kept him informed of Steve’s progress. “I went on vacation right after this happened, but I was still checking my email every day to find out how he was doing,” Pastore said. “I’m glad it’s turned out so positively.”
Holler recalled taking his dog out for a walk that morning and returning to bed at his home. After that, he has no recollection of what happened.
“The stars all aligned Nov. 11,” he said gratefully. “Everyone did the right thing and did their part. That’s why I’m still here today.”
When EMTs and paramedics arrived, Holler was shocked twice with paddles to stabilize his heart rhythm. After being stabilized at Cape Regional Medical Center, he was airlifted to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Philadelphia, where his cardiologist put him in therapeutic hyperthermia.
Therapeutic hyperthermia is also called Targeted Temperature Management, whereby the medical team tries to achieve and maintain a specific body temperature for a period of time to increase health outcomes and decrease the risk of tissue injury.
According to Wikipedia, the body is typically cooled to 90-93 degrees Fahrenheit and the process improves survival and brain function following resuscitation from cardiac arrest.
“I was in the cooled state for five or six days before being warmed up,” the 62-year-old Holler said. “I woke up within two hours of being warmed up, usually it takes people longer.”
Because his brain lacked oxygen for a short time, his road to recovery has included speech, occupational and physical therapy. “I feel better and stronger every day, but I still feel my limitations,” Holler said. “I see my cardiologist, Dr. Ross Zimmer, Dec. 21 and hope that I will be able to start cardio therapy soon after.”
While Holler said he suffered a heart attack in 2001, he “never had a major episode” like this most recent one. “They put in a pacemaker that is combined with a defibrillator so hopefully this won’t happen again.”
The combination allows for the pacemaker to stimulate the heart if the rate is detected to be too slow, or to stop an abnormal rhythm if it’s detected that the heart is beating too fast or chaotically.
Holler noted he needs to “stay away from stress” now as part of a lifestyle change. “That’s pretty hard to do these days with the world we live in, but I am doing what I can,” he said. “I have a long road of recovery ahead of me, but with the support and prayers of everyone, I’ll get stronger every day.”
In the meantime, his wife plans to take CPR classes. “I did what the dispatcher told me to do,” she said. “I didn’t have a chance to think about it so I honestly have forgotten what I did.”
“I want to thank everyone who helped me stay alive,” Holler said, “and urge people to learn CPR. You never know when you will need it. CPR can help save lives.”
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.