Sartell City Council Honors First Responders and Wife of Man Who Survived a Serious Cardiac Event at his Home

(KNSI) — The Sartell City Council celebrated the men and women who saved the life of former Catholic Charities Executive Director Steve Pareja Monday night.

In March, he collapsed in his bedroom. His wife, Donna, began CPR and kept Pareja alive for five minutes until Sartell police and paramedics could arrive. They had to shock him twice with a defibrillator at his home, and he was shocked again at CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital.

Pareja says he was given last rites twice as he fought for life, and it took months for him to fully recover. “I was unconscious for 11 days, so when I woke up, there was so much muscle atrophy that I could barely move my arms, my legs, and I couldn’t stand, I couldn’t feed myself, and I was wondering if that was going to be my new norm.”

Pareja says he suffered what his cardiologist called a sudden death event. The survival rate is only about 5%, and few regain full function.

He was quick with a joke, noting that his 11 days asleep didn’t bring him to the light, but he’s okay with that as he doesn’t remember seeing the flames of hell, either. He later said he had to be extra nice to his wife, Donna, so she would do CPR a second time if needed.

He did admit the humor was hiding scars. “There is a little bit of PTSD that comes along with being in an ICU and dealing with that. And there’s also PTSD for my wife and my children, as well. They remember the moments that I was taking a turn for the worse and not for the better, and thinking that I wasn’t going to survive the next day.”

Pareja says so many people have asked him about why he thinks he survived. He candidly replies that he doesn’t know but believes he can help raise awareness about the struggles of rehab, the mental recovery that comes with a serious health condition, and the importance of knowing CPR.

Pareja also talked about how it changed his views on working in healthcare. He is now an executive with Essentia Health and says the experience was his first as an inpatient. He added that it reinforced his belief that hospitals can never lose track of the humanity of their patients when weighing how to provide care in a fiscally sustainable way.

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