Nearly three months after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest while attending a conference in Coronado, Brian Harris, Chief of the Catawba Nation in South Carolina, returned to Fire Station 36 on Saturday morning to personally thank the Coronado paramedics, firefighters, and the Sharp Memorial medical team whose quick actions helped save his life.
On April 30, in Coronado for a conference, Harris wasn’t feeling well and stepped outside for fresh air, where he collapsed on a sidewalk. A witness, who happened to be an off-duty police officer, immediately called 911 and began CPR before Coronado Fire Department paramedics arrived.
Responders recognized that Harris met the criteria for San Diego County’s Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR) pilot program. Instead of being transported to the nearest emergency department, he was taken directly to Sharp Memorial Hospital, one of five county hospitals equipped to provide emergency extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a treatment that temporarily takes over the work of the heart and lungs while physicians address the underlying cause of the sudden cardiac arrest.
According to Sharp Memorial Hospital, Harris had received CPR for 67 minutes before arriving at the hospital, where physicians initiated ECMO to help save his life. Nine days later, he was able to walk out of the hospital.
Saturday’s reunion brought together many of the people involved in Harris’ rescue and care. During the ceremony at Fire Station 36, Harris thanked the Coronado firefighter-paramedics who responded that day, embraced members of his medical team from Sharp Memorial Hospital, and presented them with copies of a proclamation of thanks from the Catawba Nation along with commemorative challenge coins.
Dr. Christopher Ho, who led Harris’ emergency care at Sharp Memorial, was among those attending the reunion.
“This is why we do what we do. This is sort of the pinnacle of our experience,” Ho said. “We don’t get to see that many survivors. We don’t often get to see something where the training, the work, and the hours we put in result in such a dramatic success story.”
During Chief Harris’ visit to San Diego, he also stopped by Sharp Memorial Hospital on Friday afternoon to thank the doctors and nurses who cared for him.
The San Diego County ECPR pilot program, launched in 2023, is designed for select patients experiencing sudden cardiac arrest who may benefit from advanced ECMO treatment. Harris’ recovery serves as an example of the coordinated efforts between bystanders, first responders, and specialized hospital teams that can make survival possible in even the most critical cases.
