Man who went into cardiac arrest 11 times thanks Florida doctors who saved his life

ORLANDO, Fla. - A man who went into cardiac arrest 11 times thanked doctors who saved his life.

Markeem Middleton was exercising before work when he started going into cardiac arrest. The 35-year-old was able to call 911 and emergency personnel rushed him to an Orlando Health hospital.

"After I did those push-ups, like, my body literally started shutting down," Middleton said. "The last thing I remember was just saying I can't breathe and then physically curling up."

When he got to the hospital, nurses jumped into action. He coded 11 times and the last time was in the elevator as they were moving to another part of the hospital. A nurse jumped on the hospital bed in the elevator to revive him.

"It was really scary to watch the monitor and realize we had no pulse in the middle of an elevator going up five stories. It was stressful, but we all worked together to save him," Stephanie Cilderella said. 

This happened back in February and on Monday, Middleton had the opportunity to meet the heroes who worked together to save his life.

"The situation is an example of how healthcare is a team sport. When we work together inside and outside these four walls miracles can happen," Philip Koovakada, the Senior VP with Orlando Health South Central Region, said. 

MORE HEADLINES:

• Florida mom with a 'one in a million' heart condition in need of transplant
• Palm Coast girl has rare fatal disease, family raising money for therapy

Middleton had experienced shortness of breath weeks before this. His cardiologist said it was a blood clot that caused him to go into cardiac arrest. The survival rate for someone having cardiac arrest during pulmonary embolism is five percent.

"Most people would actually die in the field they wouldn’t even make it to the hospital," Dr. Sumith Aleti, a cardiologist with Orlando Health, said. "He’s a young guy, he’s a fit guy and that gave us the extra time to save him."

Middleton said he feels blessed to be alive.

"I think the best way to describe it is nothing short of a miracle. But there's also clearly some divine intervention," Middleton said. "After nine times I was knocking on heaven's door, but there's some more work for me to do."

Middleton wants to keep fighting to live the best life he can to thank those who fought so hard for him.

"My biggest goal right now is to make sure I make everyone's fight worth it and make everyone's prayers worth it," Middleton said. "Actually live up to the expectations that I think are now set for me."