Back from the dead: Quick action from co-workers save Bayside man's life



BAYSIDE -- He was dead for five minutes laying on a break room floor; his co-workers acted quickly to save their friend and it worked. Matthew Wackt, a Bayside Public Works employee, says his coming back to life is nothing short of a miracle.

"After lunch we were having a little meeting, talking and then it went blank," said Wackt.



At 34 years old, Matthew Wackt was considered medically healthy until...

"Matt's on the other side of the room here and he falls over," said Scott Matusewic, saved friend's life.

Scott Matusewic



"He started to bleed from the nose. Something was wrong," said Chad Call, saved friend's life.

Wackt suffered what his doctors' call a one-in-a-million kind of heart attack.

"He took a couple last gasps of air, and as I checked for a pulse, I had him double check for a pulse and there was nothing there," said Matusewic.

"They thought I was seizuring, turned out I was dead," Wackt said. "I had a full cardiac arrest for five minutes."



Matthew Wackt



Wackt's friends didn't give up.

"Turned around and my training kicked in," Matusewic said.

One started CPR, while the other went for an AED.

"We turned it on and let it do its thing," said Call.

The AED is what brought Wackt back to life.



Matthew Wackt



"Stars were all aligned that morning, that day, everything worked out perfectly," Call said.

Chad Call



A new outlook on life and an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) now in his chest.

The ordeal was life-changing.

"I get to walk my daughter down the aisle now, I have my wife, that's my rock, I got a second chance! A lot of people don't get that," Wackt said.

Wackt plans to make the most of his second chance.