Dying to Live Part 1

Unknown: Hello, and welcome back to the, uh, Full Spectrum Safety Podcast. This is episode two. We're back at it live. We have another. Another guest with us today, which we'll introduce here in a moment. Really excited about this one. This is the first day of October, and it's also, though, more importantly, the first day of, uh, Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month. And I was just reminded of that by Rob. So thank you for that reminder, Rob. And this is gonna. This is gonna blend really well with our topic today, uh, because this topic, it's. It's timely, it's necessary, and it's one that I'm passionate about, but Rob is even more passionate about, and that is just in general, sudden cardiac arrest. Uh, the. What it means to Rob is something completely different than what it means to everybody else. So with that being said, Rob, I'm going to turn it over to you quick, buddy, and why don't you give a intro of yourself?

Rob Hoadley: All right? Yeah, thanks. I appreciate that. Rob Hoadley, first and foremost, I'm a dad, and I'm a husband, and I'm a, uh, general, overall good human, you know. So you and I met quite a while back when, after I got into the industry, to. And I was helping you protect the people that. In the properties that you were working with.

Unknown: That's right.

Rob Hoadley: And, uh, that was really cool. That was part of San Diego Project Heartbeat, actually. We were aligned that way. Um, and I think you were aligned with them before. Way, way before that, back in the day. And. But yeah, so having. Having it be the first day of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month, like you said, fits nicely, because I am a Sudden Cardiac Arrest survivor. I'm proud to be that. Happy to be that, and I'm happy to, you know, enhance, uh, other people's lives through the continuation of my own. And it's a, uh, it's a blessing that I was able to receive bystander CPR right away immediately upon, uh, going into my arrest, and then, uh, early defibrillation, uh, that came. That came in the form of ems. We'll get into that a little bit later. But I've actually survived, um, 23 sudden cardiac.

Unknown: Stop right there. Stop right there. 23 cardiac arrests.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah. More specifically, out of hospital, sudden cardiac arrest, which are. That falls into a whole different data set. Right. Um. And yes, the people that are listening to this are like, man, no way, dude. Because, like, the survival rates. Survival rates. 10% for one man. How in the world can that possibly be? Yeah, I'll explain all that. I mean, I don't know if you want me to explain it now, but the fact is, um, the first five were on the first day, on one day. And then, uh, that was an EMS response that got to me. Um, and we'll go into that a little bit later, I think. Uh, uh, but. And then the rest of them, there were 18 after that, and they were split up in different times, and the majority happening on one, um, one Mexican fiasco is what I call it. And there's a fiasco that happened in Mexico. That's. That's why I call it that. But, yeah, so I'm passionate about preparedness, uh, making sure that you're prepared. Like, I have an AED in my car, in my truck. I sell them. Right. So there's that. Right. I work at FC Safety, and we work on getting people fully compliant. That's what f is full compliance safety with their whole safety program. But I brought. I was brought on to really head up and spearhead their AED sales and their AED component. And I do training and a lot of awareness stuff there. But I have an AED in my car. My wife has an AED in her car. My daughters have AEDs because, uh, it happened to me unexpectedly. I was 41 years old. I was going back into the Navy. I was in the best shape of my life. You know, I was 10ft tall and bulletproof, as we say. And, uh, out of nowhere, it just happened. Uh, I mean, and I dropped into a cardiac arrest. And if that ever happens to anybody else while I'm driving around, I'm going to have an aed, I'm going to be able to respond with cpr, and I'm going to be able to use an AED and save their life or give them the best chance at a favorable outcome.

Unknown: Right? Absolutely.

Rob Hoadley: Because we can't save everybody. And that's true. But I'm going to give them a shot as best I can. So that's what drove me to change my career and get into, uh, AED sales, like placement, and then, uh, cardiac emergency response plans and that sort of thing. And, um. And that's how you and I met. But that's how I spend all my days now. Outside of that, I have two amazing daughters, like I mentioned a second ago, and my wife is the absolute best person in the world. And, you know, if I could, if we ever. If we do get into the story about how she got me out of Mexico in December of 2021, people are going to freak out if they hear that story.

Unknown: So real quick, your Most recent series of cardiac arrest. I'm not going to call it singular because it was a series. When you do it, you do it big. Hey, that, that, that most recent series. December 2021, Mexico. Correct.

Rob Hoadley: That's correct. It's Christmas Eve.

Unknown: Merry Christmas Eve.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah, you're right. You know, and what's, what's ironic about that, man, is there are times when, uh, I would do CPR training, like hands only CPR training or a demonstration of an AED and you know, and like talk about the efficacy of having one in your home or have one in your office or have one in your car. And you know, and I would, I would, I would make this comment kind of off the cuff, like, hey, man, nothing messes up Christmas dinner like cardiac, uh, arrest, you know, and sure enough, on Christmas Eve I go into a cardiac arrest and I have 15 cardiac arrests in eight hours. I got shocked by my device 15 times over eight hours. And um,

Unknown: so we never know who's listening. So I just want to take a step back real quick and I want to, as a pre hospital guy. And as you mentioned, that's kind of where we met San Diego Project Heartbeat. I was working, uh, a Monday through Friday assignment when I was with San Diego Fire, which was part of San Diego Project Heartbeat. And that's how we got aligned and met. But one of the things that I always like to explain to people is the definition of sudden cardiac arrest. You know, some. So many people talk about, oh, my grandfather, you know, died of a heart attack. Well, the heart attack could have happened. That's not why, that's not why he died. So when we talk about sudden cardiac arrest, right, Unconscious, pulseless and apneic, not breathing right, and we'll get into the underlying rhythms and all that type of stuff. But those three things make you clinically dead at that point.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah, that's, that's true. And then for the clinicians, I mean, there's more that you can talk about, right, like from a rhythm standpoint or, uh, you know, but from the lay rescuer standpoint, which by the way, when we talk about the overall picture of preparedness, I think our society in general is slow to respond to somebody in crisis. And I believe, uh, over the years, the survival rate of sudden cardiac arrest outside the hospital hasn't really gone up much. Uh, if there are some studies that'll put it at a 13%. And there are some communities though, where it's in the 30, 30% tile. I mean, but that's still only 30%, man. And if that's a math test, that's an F, right? Yeah. You know what I'm saying? But, uh, but compared to 10%, that's way this does three times better. But um, I honestly believe that bystander response first, bystander awareness, bystander preparedness and bystander response is really, really what's going to move that needle and really get it to a place where more and more people are surviving from sudden cardiac arrest, which is unpredictable, can happen to anybody, anywhere, anytime. It's just not fat old white guys that have this happen. It's, it's kids. There's 17 or uh, over 10,000 kids under the age of 18 died last year from sudden cardiac arrest. My Facebook and LinkedIn feeds are full of these kind of posts. Every Friday, every time there's a football game, some kid is either saved or doesn't get saved. And then there are other kids that are playing baseball that are commodio quarters. Get hit by right.

Unknown: Time. Wrong. Yep.

Rob Hoadley: Right. Just like Demar Hamlin, which we all we talk about in the industry, we call that the Demar Hamlin effect. Right. Because now the celebrity football player had it happen to him. So now there's a whole lot of people kind of jumping on the bandwagon, which is great for me. I mean that awareness raises because of his celebrity. That's great. From the advocacy standpoint for me, I'm like, hell yeah, that's great. Ah, so. And yeah, and so there's a big difference though, right. Between a sudden cardiac arrest and a heart attack. Like. So you were mentioning that. And uh, and I don't know if you wanted to go into that or if you wanted me to talk, say how I picture that or how I, what my perspective is.

Unknown: Yeah, I just, you know, I wanted to highlight it because I think there's confusion for a lot of folks. Right. And to all the points you just made regarding this can happen to anybody, any place, anytime. This is one of the reasons why they're, you know, not recently necessarily, but over the years there's been mandates for certain industries to have AEDs, park and recs facilities, other city facilities, libraries, you know, um, sport, you know, sporting events.

Rob Hoadley: Right.

Unknown: Every, every sporting event you go to, regardless of the caliber, um, from little league baseball to the pros, they're going

Rob Hoadley: to have ads in California. That's true. There are some states that have different requirements. Okay. So I don't want to broad brush the country yet because there are some states that are behind and if you're living in One of those states, write somebody, make something happen. Because the AHA will help you, the Red Cross will help you, uh, you know, your congressman will help you, somebody will help you, uh, do that. And if you need some guidance on who to talk to, I think we're going to talk about my contact information later. But I have contacts all over the country, all over the world. Shoot. About, about all this. Some of the requirements that you were mentioning are absolutely true. Like so in uh, California, they're required in a health studio which we call a gym.

Unknown: Right?

Rob Hoadley: Oddly, they're not required in a dance studio. Right. And I'll tell you man, I've taken some dance classes, I've taken some hip hop dance classes and you, you know, I work my butt off in there and man, just as hard as I do in a gym. And I'm going to tell you what, I don't know why they don't, they're not mandated. But it's weird, like a weird little wrinkle. But there's a uh, there's a um, AB 2009 that is, that requires uh, AEDs at all pools. Um, Senate Bill 658, Chapter 264 gets into the health and safety code that talks about uh, the Good Samaritan law where you uh, do CPR to the best of your ability and training. And you're not, you don't have any liability. Use the AED to the best of your ability. There is no liability for you. There's no liability for the person or entity that bought the AED and placed the aed, nor is there one for the user for use, misuse or non use of that device. So try, just try something please. And that's really the, the message there. One last one in case somebody's listening. Uh, that's a builder or a general contract or a contract of some kind. It's uh, building code 19, 300 that says if you do more than $100,000 in tenant improvement in a building in the state of California in the calendar year, you have to put an AED in there.

Unknown: Is that right?

Rob Hoadley: Okay, that's right. So, and that's called, that's building code 13. Yeah, uh, 19 300. 19300 is what it is. And so I mean, and these are little known things and I talk to general contracts, I don't just go after buildings and say haha, gotcha, you know, you got to buy one. That's not what I do. I go to contractors and say, hey, I would like to offer this information to you. So that you can go to the building, like the. The owner. Like the owner designer and say, hey, by the way, I want to bring this value to you. And say, hey, by the way, you don't want to miss. I know you're going to put all your fire extinguishers in. I know you're going to put your exit signage and exit lighting in and those type of things, and that's fantastic. But I also want you to know that we're going to be doing more than $100,000 in the tenant improvement here. So we also have to put an AED in, and that's a, uh, value add that a contractor can bring to a design build that maybe they didn't.

Unknown: I like that, man. Dropping knowledge like that. I didn't even know that. I never heard of that before. So.

Rob Hoadley: 19. 300.

Unknown: Nice. So, looking at numbers, uh, briefly, somewhere between 350,000 to 375,000, um, out of hospital, sudden cardiac arrest annually. Is that still accurate?

Rob Hoadley: That's. Yeah, that's a big ballpark, but it's in it, yeah.

Unknown: Okay. Okay. And again, you survived 23 of those.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Look, man. Over several years. Right.

Unknown: So, uh, it doesn't matter if it's over several years telling me anything.

Rob Hoadley: I know that.

Unknown: Shoot.

Rob Hoadley: No, I'm telling you, man. And there's a. Yeah, there's a lot that goes with that. And, uh. So, yeah, that's. Those are the statistics that I know and that I would share is something like that. And basically I break it down to them and say, uh, whoever I'm speaking with, I'll talk about it and say, that's a thousand people a day. Right? So that would be 356,000 people. 365,000 people. Right. And. And that kind of puts it in terms of where that they can understand. So if we're in a meeting that has 50 people in it, okay, that's 200 of these meetings that die every year. You know, there's a thousand people a day. So, you know, help. Help me with that. You know, I mean, there's. There's got to be something we can do about that. Now, we had a congressional hearing on the fentanyl epidemic, which is. Which was bad. It was bad, no joke. Yeah, it's 100 bad. But it was like 78, 000 people that died, and which is all tragic and terrible, you know, but that's a fraction. It's a tenth. Uh, I mean, it's a fraction of what the cardiac arrest impact is on the United States, man.

Unknown: So let's, uh, let's get back to the story real quick and get back on with that. So the first series of cardiac arrests, you were at work doing your thing in a meeting, right?

Rob Hoadley: That's right. Yeah, that's right. It was a construction meeting. We were going to pay out a, uh, a general contractor that had, uh, reached substantial completion of a project. And, um, and he had some change orders and stuff that we wanted to review. I checked them out, and I'm like, we weren't going to pay this guy out because some of the change orders were in his contract. So went down to a meeting, and I was ready for the meeting, you know, and that's. That's something that sticks in my mind for some reason. But this is one of those meetings I was looking forward to. I was like, wasn't stressed. I was like, hell, yeah. I got the smoking gun, you know, I got the file that has all the stuff. They're going to really be impressed with the work I've done because I have it all. And so I get down there, and they're like, hey, man, are we going to pay out Dennis? I didn't even get to sit down yet. And so I walk into this, uh, it's a. A conference room that overlooks the bay. And, uh, there's two people sitting at a three, four top table, but it's up against the wall, so there's only three spots available. Right. And so the seat opposite me is taken. The seat to my right is taken. That's taken by Tom Farley, the construction manager. And so I walk in, don't even sit down and say, hey, so we're going to pay out Dennis. And I'm like, no, first uh, off, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And then second, well, as soon as I hit my finger, man, which I haven't done now since 2011, don't do it. As soon as I hit my finger, I, uh, died. And, you know, I had the. And I want to just point out that I was, like, I said I was in the best shape of my life. I had the best mile and a half run time I had ever had in my life that morning, you know, so I'm like, anyway, so I was. I was surprised by that. I have no family history, no personal history of, uh, serious cardiac issue. So. So that happens. And it's April 1st, by the way, right? So it's April Fool's Day. And so I'm an actor. I'm, uh, I, you know, I fool around, I'll play A joke here and there, but I fall forward in my construction manager Tom catches me by my throat with his forearm.

Unknown: Bang.

Rob Hoadley: So I don't hit my face on his computer. And I've been told, right, because, you know, and anybody watching or listening to this that knows anything about cardiac arrest, I'm unconscious, unresponsive. I don't have oxygenated blood going in my brain sufficient to keep me alive. Okay, you're dead.

Unknown: You're dead.

Rob Hoadley: That's what's happening. I'm, um, I'm dead. Yeah, I'm clinically dead at that point. And, um, so. But I'm not listening to what they're saying. So he, They've told me that they said, hey, man, come on, quit messing around. Because it's April Fool's day. And apparently I, um, exhibited some seizure type activity where I was shaking. Um, and they were like, oh, man, this is real. So Thomas John Farley, my cpr, uh, angel, uh, he put me on the ground, he threw me on the ground and started CPR right away. And he had learned CPR when he was 11 years old in summer camp. And he was 52 when he saved my life. So what I'm telling you is I don't care if you have a card. I don't care if you lost your card. I don't care where your card is. Man, I gotta get that renewed. Yeah, well, whatever. Get your card renewed. Yes, please. Get training, because it does change. But, uh, that doesn't. If your card's expired, that does not mean you don't know cpr. Babe, I'm going to tell you that. Get your hands on that chest, hard and fast, center of the chest and keep going until somebody relieves you, you know. Anyway, uh, so he started that and he did CPR for seven and a half minutes by himself, which is.

Unknown: Can we just pause there? Because most people who've never done CPR don't know how much energy and exertion it takes out of anybody to do that.

Rob Hoadley: Well, I'll tell you, a lot of people have had CPR classes, you know, and when they. And I can let. I'll remind them that when they did their two minutes to get their card, qualify for their card, like they were sweating. They were, you know, like, oh my God, this is so hard. And you know, and, and I'm not dogging on anybody. I'm just saying when you don't know, and if you don't use proper technique, you're trying to do a hundred push ups in a minute and you Know, man, I don't know. A lot of people can do that, you know. And then if you have to go two minutes, you're trying to do 200 push ups because you're used bending your elbows and you're not supposed to do that. Yeah, but if you're doing it right, it's still very hard. And then you add the emotional, psychological pressure of somebody, you know, that you're trying to do this life saving work on. And the fact that he did it for that long is, is a testament to him and his desire to keep me alive. And you know, and it made, it's made possible by the adrenaline that's in your body and it, it in your fight or flight hormones, you know, your cortisol that goes kicking through. And so he did that for seven and a half minutes. Uh, EMS arrived at about seven and a half minutes. So I got my first shock at about eight minutes. Um, which, uh, more statistics for everybody on the call. That's a nerd. Um, every minute you're in sudden cardiac arrest, your chance of survival drops approximately 10%. So at eight minutes into this cardiac arrest. Right, so it starts in eight minutes. I'm down to about a 20% chance of survival. Okay. Another statistic I've, I've been shared with is that every time you get shocked while you're in these, in this prolonged status, the cardiac, uh, arrest, every time you get shocked means that there's still that much longer, that your heart is still in that place and whatever is going wrong is still going wrong. So your chance of survival drops another 10%. So I was at 20% chance of survival. And then I was shocked five times by the, before I got to the hospital. So I was at a negative 30% chance of survival going through ER doors.

Unknown: Right.

Rob Hoadley: And, and by the way, multiple, um, cardiac arrests back to back, like that is called an electrical storm. Okay. There are some people who say that was one event. And I, and I adamantly disagree with that because any one of those events would have ended my life if I didn't have the proper treatment. So, uh, so I count all of them. Okay. So that's how I get to 23. And I, and I'm, and I think it's legitimate. So, and I don't, once I explain it to people, I don't have cardiologists arguing with me or electrophysiologists aren't arguing with me. So I'm pretty sure I'm right about that anyway. So, uh, I'm just saying, you know, it's so funny, because in our society, it's like somebody makes a claim and there's. There are people that are just waiting in the wings to say, you're wrong. And here's why I'm saying, you know what? Go to hell. It's. I wasn't saying it just to be bragging, man. I was just trying to say this happens to people, you know, and some people survive. And the fact that I'm still here is a really special thing. And like, every day I wonder why that is. I tried. Like my co. My, uh, fellow survivor, Brandon Griffith, says you have to earn each day. You know, he's a survivor who was a. He's a cop. He had a cardiac arrest at home while he was a cop. They kicked him off the force and you can't be a cop anymore. He said, the hell I can't. And he worked his butt off and got back to being a cop. Now he is. He's a sworn post certified cop. He's a sheriff deputy in Pinal County. Wow. Um, and. And, you know, and it's. It's fantastic to see that type of, uh, determination and reinvigoration, um, of perspective when, uh, when people face this type of trauma. Um, so. And back in the story. So I'm shocked five times on the way to the hospital. They, uh, triage me. They do, they do the best they can. Um, they continue cpr, they push a lot of meds, and, And I'll talk about this part a lot, but they, uh, they end up getting to a place where they come out into the waiting room where my wife and several people have gathered. And they say, uh, are you Mrs. Hoadley? And she said, well, yeah, that's me. And my wife works at a pres. Or a Lutheran preschool. So there was a vicar there. A vicar is like a pastor in training kind of thing for the Lutheran faith. Um, and. But vicar Josh followed her to the hospital because she was working at a preschool. And like, oh, what happened? Oh, her husband collapsed at work. So he's on the way to the hospital. So he comes to just be by our side. And so, uh, he's sitting there, he has his collar on, and he's praying, you know, you know, give him strength. Give. Give the doctors wisdom and guidance, you know, all the prayers that you could say. And, uh, the doc comes out and says, you know, are you Mrs. Hoadley? And she said, yeah, is this. Is that your priest? And she's like, yeah, sure. Because she still doesn't really grasp, like most people don't like what, like the literal gravity of the situation, right? How grave it is. And, um. And he says, well, I need the two of you to come back. And so she's like, yeah, well, like, let me get my purse, you know? And she like, no, ma', am. I need you to hear what I'm saying.

Unknown: Take your time, man.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah, But I need you and your priests to come back. And so my wife described walking in the room. It's a teaching hospital, so, uh, there were several doctors in there, kind of on the periphery, like, watching, you know, uh, observing, because it's a. It's a big event. I mean, a guy comes in in full cardiac arrest, and they're doing everything can to save a life, literally. Uh, and there were packages, like, ripped open, like, kind ah, of on the floor. There was a little fluid on the floor. When she walked in, she said, what's going on? And, like, tried to get, um. Tried to get people to look at. And, like, nobody would keep eye contact. Every time she connected with someone, they would. They would drop their gaze to the floor. And finally the doc that was in charge came over and said, Mrs. Odley, I'm sorry, we tried everything. Beep. Get her out of here. And now my heart had restarted according to the monitor.

Unknown: Uh, are you serious?

Rob Hoadley: And now she's back in the waiting room where we've had some co workers show up. Some people from our church showed up by then, and so now they're all like, well, is he all right? Like, because people knew. I didn't make it a secret I was going back in the Navy, man. I didn't make it a secret that I was working out. And I felt good. I looked damn good, man. I was like, hell, yeah. Everybody look at me. So people knew and so nobody thought that there was anything like this that could be happening, right? And, um, so now she's out there and she has 3 million questions, man, and no answers, you know? So they worked on me for a bit longer, but again, I wasn't paying attention at that point either. That's the part of the whole story that's really the vaguest or, uh, greatest to me, because only, uh, people back there were doctors and they. And they didn't really tell me what happened during that time, but they. They pushed a lot of drugs, they did a lot of cpr. I don't know how many times I was defibrillated over there, but they got me stable, uh, put me in a medically induced coma and got me up to the 10th floor to the cardiac critical care unit. My question to the medical community, if you're listening, is why the hell is that on the 10th floor? You know, put the freaks that need a cast or something on the tenth floor, man, but put me on the second floor. If, you know, if the first floor is a er, then put me on the second, you know, I don't need that long elevator ride, you know. Anyway, I'm just saying.

Unknown: Uh. No, that's a valid, that's a valid question.

Rob Hoadley: No, you have to rearrange your whole hospital for me. I'm m just saying that doesn't make any damn sense because part of the reason why they delayed in getting me out of the ER was because they were scared of the, the elevator ride because it wouldn't have all the same gear if I was in the elevator. If the elevator got stuck and I rearrested curtains, man, you know, ball game. So anyway, so I just don't understand why I was up there. So, uh, medically induced coma for four days. Targeted temperature management. So cool in my body, which is one of the one hospitals that do it on the west coast is UCSD in Hillcrest. And they did it. And I am, I am certain because. Also because I was told, but I'm certain that it is why I have the brain function that I do. I can ride a motorcycle and I can have a conversation like this. I can, uh, I can walk, I can talk, I can hold a job. A lot of things that a lot of cardiac arrest survivors that went through half of what I did that can't do because they didn't have the targeted temperature management and that trauma shot through their body. And instead of cooling it down and slowing that impact or slowing that effect that it has, so I was able, I was able to come out of it. I'm, uh, not totally unscathed from a cognitive function space because I still have cognitive issues. I do. I worked really hard for two years to get my brain back after that, but came, uh, out of a coma and, you know, and immediately started making jokes because I was scared and didn't know what the hell was happening. And that's how, that's one of my fear responses, right? And uncomfortable responses is to make jokes. But then I walked 212ft to my next room. And I know it's 212ft because their tiles are one by one. And I walked around that floor, I don't know, 400 times before they let me out of the hospital, but 212ft to my next room and, and uh, Oh, I shouldn't. I should point out that I woke up from the. I came out of the coma before they wanted me to, early. Like it was a surprise to them. And they don't. And so, anyway, I was awake, and they're like, hello. Hey. Hi. Uh, Robert. And I heard my brother say his name is Rob. It's like, oh, okay. Hi. I'm like, oh, cool. Sean's here, you know, But Sean's from Chicago, and I was in La Jolla. Well, I. I thought I was. I didn't know where I was, you

Unknown: know, what day was. What day was. So, uh, your event was on April 1st. Your cardiac arrest on April 1st. What day was this now?

Rob Hoadley: The 5th. So you have to be the 5th. You lost four days.

Unknown: You lost four days.

Rob Hoadley: Four full days. And then, so. So the doc asked me to, uh, uh, squeeze his finger like a, ah, motor, uh, function test. It's like, hey, man, can you squeeze my finger with your right hand? I'm like, yeah, sure. Uh, and like, when I was a kid growing up playing sports, we had physicals that we took, and I would purposely squeeze that doc's hand just a little bit harder than he thought was common, you know, just to say, yeah, dog, I'm strong. You know, Go ahead and report that to my trainer. I don't know, whatever. But. But I squeezed his hand, you know, and then he anticipated. He's coming. Come on, show me the left hand. Go ahead. He said, all right, man, all I need. I need you to squeeze my finger with your left hand for me just one time. And, um, I'm like. I start squeezing. I'm like, yeah. He's like, come on, man. One time. And I'm like. So I squeezed harder. I thought he said, man, all I need is one. So I hear my sister start to cry. I'm like, hey, Dawn's here, too. Don lives in Arizona. I'm like, wait, so Sean's here, Dawn's here. Uh, this is clearly a hospital, and I'm not squeezing this guy's hand, and I think I am. This is bad.

Unknown: Something happened.

Rob Hoadley: This is real bad. You know who would know? My wife. Because if it's this bad, I know she's here. So I tried to call for my wife, and this is my PSA to everybody out there, if you're intubated, do not try to talk.

Unknown: Time out. So you just dropped that little nugget. So you were intubated this whole time? Because, again, you, uh, randomly woke up when you were supposed to be in a medically induced coma.

Rob Hoadley: Right, Right.

Unknown: That's not will to live. I don't know what is.

Rob Hoadley: I'll get to that. But then, uh, so I tried to call for my wife, and I couldn't because I was intubated, and it freaking hurts. I want to say that one more time.

Unknown: Um.

Rob Hoadley: Um. And then. So I'm a Gulf War veteran. I have PTSD from that experience in my life, and I have seen that manifest physically in, like, my feet start to get hot, and then my legs and then up into my torso, and then I try to stop it. And I have different ways that I stop that, with different breathing techniques or getting off the X and going. Doing something different to stimulate other parts of my brain or other emotions or whatever so I can chill that out. One of them is singing, you know, and I. I couldn't sing, right. Because I was intubated, like I said, but I didn't have any measures, any defenses against it. So the heat just came and washed over my body, and I went back out. I, uh, went back into a coma. And so now. Oh, another part of the story I forgot. My wife had been convinced to go home.

Unknown: So she wasn't there when you wasn't

Rob Hoadley: even calling out for her? Yeah, no. Uh, she went home to get a shower because she had been there for four days. And, you know. And, uh, so my sister calls her right away, said, hey, you woke up. You woke up. Get down here. And so by the time she gets there, I'm back out, and she's, like, rushing to the room, and the doc stops her. He says, man, we got to talk. He said, oh, no, he's. What you say? Just let me tell you what happened. So your husband regained consciousness momentarily. Uh, there was some motor deficit on his left side. We're unable to fully assess what that means. So you should be prepared that, uh, if your husband wakes back up, he may not be able to care for himself. And you should start thinking about alternative care. I mean, think about those three phrases, right? If your husband wakes back up, not cool. He may not be able to care for himself. Well, that sucks. I mean, you know, I'm the guy that gets the stuff off the top shelf, right? I'm the guy that picks up the heavy thing. I'm the guy that, you know, that's what I'm, um. I'm the dad. I'm the husband. You know, it's not. I'm not trying to be misogynistic. I'm just saying that's how we are in my house. I'm stronger than everybody here. That's real. You know, he's not care for himself. Are you crazy? And you should start thinking about alternative care. It's like, well, okay, what the hell does that mean? What does it. Paint that picture for me, you know? And, uh, so my wife came in and visited me for a bit, and, um, and then disappeared for a couple hours and getting herself together, and came back and then took ownership and control of the situation, Said, okay, uh, so is he stable now? Yes, he is okay. Is this how he was when he woke up last time? They're like, well, yeah, yeah. All these numbers are about where. Yeah. So are they good? Yeah, well, yeah, yeah, it's good. You know, we can ease him back out tomorrow. You know, obviously he wants to be awake, so, you know, we'll just safely do it tomorrow. She's like, no, do it now. Let's get him now. No, ma', am, I think we're gonna. She's like, no, no, wake him up. And so they brought me out of a coma. I mean, per protocol, the way they do it, right? Slowly, I guess, whatever. I wasn't paying attention to that either. But, uh, But I woke up and I had no motor deficit on my left side. And that's when I stood up and walked 212ft to my next room. That's why that's important.

Unknown: Can we just go back just for a moment? So the period in between. So on the fourth is when you prematurely woke up from your medically induced coma, correct or. No, the fifth.

Rob Hoadley: I think it's probably the fourth because it's four days, right? I went in on the first. Second, Third. Fourth.

Unknown: Okay.

Rob Hoadley: So, yeah, we'll say fourth.

Unknown: Okay. And then what was the date when you walked those 212ft?

Rob Hoadley: Fourth, brother.

Unknown: That's why I wanted to go back to that. This was the same day because your wife came in, your wife, two hours later, your wife advocated for you. She's like, no, wake him up. Let's do this and that.

Rob Hoadley: And that's what I was saying. Because earlier you said, talk about will to live. And I'm like, yo, uh, here's the thing. I am confident. And, you know, there will be naysayers, and you say nay all you want, but I believe my wife came into that room in the emergency room and said, what's going on? And I believe I heard her voice, and that's why my heart started. That's what I believe. That's how I feel. Medically, you can say whatever the hell you want, but Then my wife said, wake him up. And I got up, and I was able to function. You say whatever you want, man. Okay, You. You feel how, uh, everybody on this. Can you feel however you want? I know how I feel. I know what she means to me. I know what she means in here, and I know what impact that has on me when I feel like she needs me to do something. So I fully believe she saved my life twice. So. Yeah. And so we got. We get down there, and then, uh, you know, everybody's like, yeah, he's. He's alive, he's awake, he's awake, he's alive. All the things, right? And there was a lot of celebrating, man. I'm gonna tell you. Uh, that whole waiting room area was full. I mean, was full, full. They were turning people away. And, like, the doctor, like, cleared the room and was like, hey, Rob, I need to talk to you about what happened. I said, okay. And he went through it, and I was just crying because I didn't realize how close I had come to just never coming back, you know, and how much I didn't, uh, say or how much I missed or. You know, I just didn't. It was hard to comprehend that, uh. And, uh. Oh, and I have four broken ribs, too, man. So I was kind of. I was wondering.

Unknown: I wonder where that came from. That came from.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah. So, um. But he said, man, there's. There's been. There's been like, a hundred people out there waiting for you to wake up for, like, four days. Like, I don't know what you and your wife do, but whatever it is, keep doing it, man, because his family is in his family. The doctor, his name is John Standish Adams. I don't know if he'll listen to this, but thank you. Um, but he, uh. He said in his family, sometimes when they start looking back and reflecting on their life, they say, if you die today, who would come to your funeral? Like, how many people would be there and why? You know, what impact have you had? Not necessarily like, oh, was it you? Are you coming? No, not that. I mean, but, like, who have you impacted and who's going to come? What kind of cross section of society or whatever. And, um, he's like, apparently, you guys are doing a lot, because there's all kinds of people here. I'm like, that's great. I'm a dude. They're here for my wife, man. They're not here for me. He's like, no, they're. They're here for you, too. So I was. I was Happy to. Happy to know that. Because it's not often that you get to know what kind of impact you have on your surrounding community until something like that happens. Right. Usually it's like weddings and funerals. That brings people together like that. Um, but to be able to have that brush and then come back and go, oh, snap. You guys were all there. Awesome. Um, but then, uh. Then they offered to put a device in my chest, uh, an internal defibrillator. And they. They made it out, like, a choice, like, right. Like, um, and I had to sign, like, a. Yeah, I'll do it kind of a paper. I'm like, are you kidding me? Do it now, man. Like, how. How come you didn't do it already? You kidding me? But I got that. Ah. I got that done. And, um, it turned out they tore my rotator cuff during CPR also somehow. But whatever. I mean, it had been torn and repaired, so maybe it was just weak. I don't know. But because I got an MRI on that and a MRI on my heart and my heart. Here's the thing, man. So my heart is. Is perfect physically. From an operational standpoint, it's fine. The problem is post premature, uh, ventricular contractions. So, like little wiggles before my heartbeat, they stack up in front of my heartbeat at a certain length or a certain frequency, and. And that sends my heart into an arrhythmia. And the arrhythmia that I am prone to is, unfortunately, ventricular fibrillation, which is a cardiac arrest, which is a fatal rhythm. And that's the most explanation I have received, other than that it's idiopathic. They don't know why the PVC stack up like that. Uh, they don't know what causes it. They don't know. They don't know. And I get a whole bunch of. Like that. I get a bunch of shrugged shoulders and, you know, and, uh. So it's. It's so literally, man. So, Glenn, I walk around today, uh, every day knowing, like, my heart could fail again, like, right now. Oh, wait, wait, wait. Right now? Oh, no, right now. And then. So what do you do with that, right? Do you just sit in your closet and eat Oreos and, like, hope everything goes okay? Or do you just get out in life, man, and just do it? And that's been one of the biggest hurdles my family and I have overcome. Well dealt with. I should, uh. I don't know about overcome. That's pretty. That's pretty. Yeah, that's pretty aggressive speech. That's not True. But we just don't look backwards, right? We don't look back like, oh, is this the day he's going to have another one? You know, that's not it. The accusing. Is he having one right now? No. Okay, let's go. Let's keep going, you know, Keep going. And when it does happen, we'll deal with that shit again.

Unknown: And look, man, so here, here's the crazy part. This is only. This is only part of your story. This is only part of your story. So I just want to plant a little seed and say we're about 45 minutes into this. Mhm. I want to go to a part two. I want to go to a part two, if you're cool with that.

Rob Hoadley: And it's not the first time, man.

Unknown: Oh. Uh, and I. And I think that will have the most impact because I want this to sink in with people. I want this to sink in with people about the gravity of what we're talking about, about the story you just told, about the significance of it, about, about how this has shaped your life to be what it is now. And we'll dive some more into that in part two. But also the significance of. And we did not plan this, Rob. You know, we did not plan this was Glenn, the safety guy from Full Spectrum Safety Consulting, who claims to know all these things about safety. I didn't recognize October 1st as the first day of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness Month.

Rob Hoadley: That's right.

Unknown: This story. This story has to me that much more meaning right now that we're sitting here on October 1, 2025, having this conversation and hearing it from me, man.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah. So let's see if I could pull this one up real quick. I just want to shoot a number at you. We were talking statistics earlier. See here. Come on.

Unknown: Come on up.

Rob Hoadley: Come on up. 5297 days ago is when I had my first. First cardiac arrest.

Unknown: 5,297 days ago.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah. That's how many extra days I've had so far because of bystander cpr. If he would have just looked at me and watched and waited for EMS to arrive. We're not talking right now. No way.

Unknown: You talked about your mental clarity. You talked about a little bit about your struggles with, you know, being able to get your memory back to where it is right now. Yeah, but. And you attributed that to some of the therapy you got at UCSD Hillcrest.

Rob Hoadley: Oh, yeah.

Unknown: Uh, with lowering your body temperature. Right. Which reduces overall stress in the body, which, you know, and just slows everything down and lets you get back to a homeostatic kind of state. Right.

Rob Hoadley: Yeah, that's what I understand. Yeah.

Unknown: Yeah. So. But I want to point out a really important fact. We can't discount that the gentleman who was on your chest for over seven minutes played a huge part in saving your life. And also, most importantly, probably keeping that blood circulating to two of the most important organs, your heart and the brain. The. Which is why you have the mental capacity you have right now.

Rob Hoadley: You are 100% right about that. And, uh, I know that. I know, I know that. Very, very strong. And I'm, uh, uh, obviously, I'm forever thankful. And now, uh, Tom and I have actually, uh, made, uh, some significant, uh, motorcycle, uh, trips. Like, we, uh. We rode from Canada to Mexico, uh, over 13 days, and we rode across Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, and, uh. And a bunch of. A bunch of little rides, like, out to the desert, like Burrito Springs and up into the mountains and stuff like that. But the two big ones like that. And to do that with a guy, a person that, you know, literally saved your life.

Unknown: Yeah, uh, that's wild to.

Rob Hoadley: Really. And I'm, um. Like, that's my best Rob Lowe impersonation, but I just can't. It's impossible for me to say thank you enough to him. It's impossible. And so some of the things. And I think you're going to be cutting me off here soon, so we can go to part two. But things in things in part two that we're going to cover that I have, I've discovered in my survivorship over 14 years. Right. Yeah. 14 years is like, uh. Because I know that my heart can fail at any time, which so could yours. You know, whatever. Whatever. That's not what I mean. I mean that. Yeah, yours. I don't mean that I'm the only one, but I know that mine has. And statistically and probably from a probability standpoint, mine's going to do it again because, uh, one of. One of the EP electrophysiologists told me that it's. It's kind of like once your body knows it can do that, it may do that again, which is why I have the device in my chest that I do. Right. Which has shocked me and saved my life 18 times now. So if you're thinking, uh. And if you're listening to this and you're thinking about getting an AICD and implantable defibrillator or not, stop thinking about it, find a good surgeon and get it in your chest, because it is Nothing but insurance, man. And if. If it never goes off, good for you. But, man, if it does, that means that would have been the time. And, uh, so there's, uh. There. There are things about that that will stay with you, um, after that. After that happens again. I mean, because I've recovered now. So I had five. Uh, in 2011, I had two. Two more in 2018. I had one in February of 2021, and then 15 in December of 2021. Okay. So each one of those moments, those events, I had to recover from a different way. Each one of them were. They presented differently and left a different mark and left a different, um, emotional. Emotional impact. And I had to climb back out of that separate, different ways every time. Like, oh, shoot, this. This isn't working like last time, because it's not the same kind of thing. I'm older, I'm different. Everything's different. And now I have to come back, and I have to be happy again. Uh, what the hell does that mean? How do you do that? How do you find joy? How do you plan for a trip if you know your heart could fail? How do you travel with family? How does your family leave you and go to college? And my own daughter almost didn't go away to college because she was scared I was going to die when she was gone. I mean, there's a lot of ripple impact here and there. There. It, uh. I have a. I have a very real, um, emotional and mental health story that I can. I can tell, and I'll tell that in part two. But there are ways. There are specific ways that I still find joy and that I have found my. Found ways to savor the great moments in life and understand that when opportunities come my way, I seize them. Because I don't believe in coincidence anymore. And I just don't. I think everything happens for a reason. You and I met all those years ago so that we could talk today, uh, on the first day of Sudden Cardiac Arrest Awareness month. Um, I don't do. Why? I don't know. Dude. Yeah? What does God have planned for you, man? I don't know. I'm not arrogant enough to think I would know. What does he have planned for you?

Unknown: Right.

Rob Hoadley: Oh, well, you have the same miracle of life I do.

Unknown: Yeah.

Rob Hoadley: You know, Rob, how come you're not happy here? Well, how come you're not happy? You know? What are you bitching about? I mean, honestly, we all have an opportunity every day to be happy or glad or sad or philanthropic or resentful or boisterous. Or giving or isolationist or whatever. Uh, we all have those choices, and we do. We make those choices thousands of times a day. And now it's up to you. Because in cognitive behavior therapy, they talk about how, uh, you have feelings that lead to emotions, and those emotions lead to your behaviors. Okay? So you have two shots at figuring out what the hell is going on before you behave poorly or before you decide to behave a certain way. Because your feelings, you don't decide that they happen. If you have feelings, they're right, because they're yours, and that's what they are. And those feelings lead to an emotion. Okay? So the feeling I have is this. And now I'm feeling neglected or I'm feeling disrespected. Uh, so now I'm mad. Okay, you're mad. What the hell are you going to do with that? Are you going to spread that mad onto other people? Or what are you going to do with it? You just not going to say anything? You're just going to let it steam up and be all nasty inside you? Or. Or are you going to figure out, why are you mad? And then, oh, wouldn't it be cool if you found a way so that the people behind you that you love and respect don't have to go through that mad? Also? Wouldn't that be sick? That's so. That would be so fantastic. And so I've changed my life from, uh, I have to. To I, uh, get to. And that changes everything, man. I mean, if you really believe that, if you really. Which I do. If you really believe that, then it's a whole different, brighter perspective on it. And I don't have obligations. Literally have opportunities, right? And every one of them is. Has something in it that I can get from me and that I can give to other people, you know? And I don't have to go to work, man. I get to, bro. I get to. Huh. The last thing I'll say about that before you cut me off, because we have to. But I end every one of my presentations with a, uh, quote that it was attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, and somebody probably said it before her, but that's the earliest one I could really stick on. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. And that's why it's called the present. I love that I, uh, live that every day.

Unknown: This is why. This is why I wanted to have this conversation, because it's deeper than just the cardiac arrest. Oh, this guy had a sudden cardiac arrest. It's much deeper than that. Your mindset Your outlook on life and how it, how your cardiac arrest has helped to shape that. I didn't know you before that, but I am highly confident that, that you are. You are a different dude. You are a different dude.

Rob Hoadley: So there are components that are the same. Right? I, um, mean, but, but yeah, uh, there's no question about that. There's no question about that.

Unknown: So as we wrap this up, and again, we have a part two coming. We have to. Because we've only covered five cardiac arrests. We're missing 18. So, uh, I just want to. Want to set the stage. We've only covered the first five. We're missing 18.

Rob Hoadley: That's right.

Unknown: Before we know in the. It's the again, first day of Sudden Cardiac Awareness Month.

Rob Hoadley: Yes.

Unknown: The two things that I would live people or leave people with would be one, get CPR training.

Rob Hoadley: Yes.

Unknown: If you don't have it, and if you're a business owner listening and you're not an industry that's required to have an ad, get an ad, get a defibrillator, have it there. Those are my two. What do you have?

Rob Hoadley: No, I'm going to echo your first one and say get CPR trained. Okay. There's an effort going through county, uh, of San Diego right now that is revive and survive San Diego. And they're holding, uh, free hands only CPR classes. You don't have to get a card if you don't want to and pay the money to get certified, that's fine. But get trained on hands only cpr, um, because it's out there, it's free, and you know, and if you want it for free and you need a demonstration of an AED, Mr. Business Owner, Ms. Business Owner, and you want a demonstration, you don't know if you want to buy one yet or not. Call me, let me know. Um, I am unreasonably passionate about sharing this information with people. And I'll do it for one person or a thousand people. And I'm not scared of any of that. Um, so that. So the CPR training. Absolutely. Get an AED a hundred percent. Right. And the, um. And something I'll just say just from a mindset standpoint, um, is you. You mentioned being, uh, prepared. And you can't be prepared unless every day you do something for your mind and for your body and for your spirit. Okay? There's. They're all connected. And if you're not whole and you're not grounded in all those phases and you're not feeding those, those buckets, then you're not Going to be able to do stuff for other people. And, uh, and that, that's. And that's. That's really where I find the basis of my mindset now. And I find myself more able to help other people. And all I really want to do is see my wife smile one more time. My daughters both smile one more time. And, oh, man, if they all do it at the same time at each other, come on.

Unknown: Life is.

Rob Hoadley: That would be amazing. And I would just need it one more time, though. You know what I'm saying? That's all. That's, uh, all. That's what I work for. That's what I work toward. And if I smile, I smile, whatever. But that, that's. That's what I want. And service before self is, um, is something that I, I want to point out to you because I, I just want to help as many people as possible because I'm still around. And in the next episode, we will talk about mental, uh, health challenges, different ways to find resources to get out of those mental health challenges. Because it wrapped into depression and anxiety, being isolated and not wanting to talk to people and gaining weight and not being able to sleep and, you know, abuse of alcohol and all kinds of stuff happened. And there are ways to get out of that. And I didn't see them, and now I know them. M. And now I can help with some of that. But the story about how my wife got me out of Mexico is one that I hope. I hope your listeners tune into. Because, Broman, she was Joanne Bourne, man. Whatever the female Jason Bourne would be, that was her, man. And I don't know how she did it, but wow, you know, and I really appreciate you for spending your time with me like this. I can't believe I was number two on your list, but, you know, I'm gonna let that go. But whatever. I'm not number two at anything, bro. That's not what I do anymore. But, but no, I'm. I. But I heard the first one and then, you know, and that's totally fine. I'm fine being here. I do have to go too, because I have rehearsal for the play. I'm in Little Shop of Whores. It's opening on October 10th in Bankers Hill. And, uh, at point lomaplayhouse.com go out and get tickets, man. We need it. Because some of the. Some of the proceeds go to a, uh, women's shelter here in San Diego. Because part of the storyline is a, uh, boyfriend, uh, is rough with his girlfriend, stuff like that. So, uh, we want to give back to the community. We're partnering with, uh, Downtown San Diego Partnership to go downtown and sing some songs for some folks in. In a shelter. And then, so we're finding. We're finding ways to give back while we're having fun playing on stage two. And actually, I'm the voice of the Plant, so you ought to want. You want to come and see that.

Unknown: I. I will be checking it out because you.

Rob Hoadley: You.

Unknown: There are many sides to Mr. Rob Hoadley.

Rob Hoadley: That's right. I'm a singer, baby. I'm a vocalist.

Unknown: I heard it. I've heard it on your YouTube. On your YouTube channel. So I've heard it. So, look, man, this has been enlightening. This has been powerful. This has been inspirational. This has been transformative, and I can't wait. I can't wait for, uh, part two of this. So, with that being said, thank you again.

Rob Hoadley: My pleasure.

Unknown: Stay safe out there, my friends.

Rob Hoadley: You too, bud.

Unknown: We'll see you on the next one.

Rob Hoadley: Awesome. Thank you.