Paul Wylie, the 1992 Olympic figure skating silver medalist, said he survived his sudden cardiac arrest April 21 and resulting medically induced coma “by the narrowest of margins,” according to Icenetwork.com.
Wylie, 50, told his story at U.S. Figure Skating’s Champs Camp in Colorado Springs, Colo., to active American skaters on Saturday, according to the report.
U.S. skaters are training in preparation for the Grand Prix season, which starts with Skate America, Oct. 23-25 in Milwaukee
Here’s more on Wylie from Icenetwork:In April, Wylie was running sprints with some friends when he collapsed. Fortunately for Wylie, one of the guys he was running with was trained in CPR and performed chest compressions for about five minutes before an ambulance arrived. Paramedics tried using a defibrilator to resuscitate Wylie but were unsuccessful. It was only when he received an injection that rescue workers were able to revive Wylie. He was then put into a medically induced coma, from which he didn’t wake up for a couple of days.
“By the narrowest of margins,” Wylie said, “I survived.”
He awoke on April 23 with his wife, Kate, holding his hand. Wylie had no idea where he was (he was in a hospital not far from his Charlotte home), and his wife had to fill him in on what had happened.
“She said, ‘Your heart stopped,’ and the ambulance came and brought you here,” Wylie said. “I said, ‘An ambulance? That’s expensive!’”Follow @nzaccardi