Surfers Rush From Ocean And Save Man’s Life After His Heart Stopped While Walking On The Beach

58-year-old Donna Balzano Rowan was enjoying a walk on the beach with her husband of 34 years, 59-year-old Todd Rowman.

The two were enjoying the last day in their beach house before heading home to New Jersey and they decided to take a barefoot walk along the shore on October 2, 2022. It seemed like a perfect morning as the two took in the view of the birds, surfers, and sun. It’s something the couple has done for years together, which Donna shares photos of on Facebook:

Unbeknownst to them, Todd was suffering from clogged arteries and it was to the point where his heart couldn’t take it any longer. In the middle of their walk, Todd suddenly collapsed face-first into the sand and turned blue. His heart had stopped beating.

Donna explained in a Facebook post that she immediately screamed for help and surfers in the water ran to her.

Two of those surfers, Tyler Volpe and Paul Roy, happened to work in the medical field.

According to The Virginian Pilot, Volpe, a surfer and physician assistant, explained that he heard Donna’s cry and immediately ran to see what had happened. He said, “I knew it wasn’t a normal scream. I came flying out of the water.”

24-year-old Roy, a healthcare worker at a local hospital, was also surfing at the time and ran out of the water to see what was wrong.

The two immediately assessed Todd and began performing CPR, alternating between chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, while the tide washed up beside them.

“I really thought he was dead,” Donna told the outlet.

Volpe and Roy continued to perform CPR until paramedics arrived with a defibrillator. On the second shock from the device, Todd’s heart started up and he regained consciousness.

Todd was rushed to the hospital to undergo triple bypass surgery. Donna is just grateful that the incident happened where it happened because if they had been somewhere without medical professionals nearby, things could’ve ended much differently.

On October 9th, 2022, Donna shared that Todd was released from the hospital.

The Virginian Pilot reports that Donna and Todd were able to reconnect with Volpe after the incident.

Donna gave him a big hug and said, “We know that God put you there on the beach with us that day. It could have had a really different ending.”