Ted Czarnecki
Ted loves walking. At 78, it’s his favourite way to get around, and on November 2, 2024, he set out on foot for a Toronto Argonauts playoff game at BMO Field. The walk usually takes him about 25 minutes—time he cherishes almost as much as the game itself.
“I told my wife as I was heading out that I didn’t feel quite as good as usual, but I was looking forward to the game. Truth is, I was probably looking forward to the walk almost as much as the game.”
Ted doesn’t remember the walk. He doesn’t remember getting to BMO Field, or ordering food at a concession stand. He doesn’t remember falling down some stairs, or suffering cardiac arrest. And he doesn’t remember a stranger performing CPR, but whoever that person was, they saved Ted’s life.
Ted’s first memory of these events was the two paramedics piecing his story together as best they could. They took him to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where doctors kept an eye on him for a couple of days, but he was later sent for life-saving surgery at St. Michael’s Hospital.
On November 10, Dr. Gianluigi Bisleri and his team performed quadruple bypass surgery, using veins from Ted’s leg. Ted laughs about how much vein they took from his leg.
“Yeah, they used a lot. Maybe nine inches. But I guess it worked. It’s only been a couple of months, but I’m moving around just fine, and the doctors tell me I now have the heart of a 50-year-old.”
Just before Christmas, Ted and his wife dropped in to St. Michael’s Foundation to make a donation. A way of saying thanks for the care he received.
“Everyone was amazing. The doctors, the nurses and nurse practitioners. They took such good care of me, and I am so grateful. I also want to say that I am also grateful to whoever the guardian angel was who performed CPR at the game. I wish I could remember them, because I am still walking around thanks to them.”
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