DUNWOODY, Ga. — A high school and collegiate basketball official is crediting some very special people with saving his life.
George Sylvester was at Perimeter Mall when he collapsed.
On Thursday, for the first time, he met face-to-face with the Emory University medical student and EMS workers who worked together to keep him alive.
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“She will forever be my superhero,” Sylvester said.
George Sylvester is talking about Paige Horton. She’s the Emory medical student who stepped up and started cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him at Perimeter Mall when he collapsed while shopping for Valentine’s Day gift three months ago.
“Saturday, February 11 (is) a day I will never forget,” Sylvester explained.
This high school and college basketball official likes to think he is very healthy, with no family history of heart disease. But that day changed his life forever.
“Since then I have had three heart surgeries,” Sylvester said.
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“We did hands-only CPR,” Horton said.
That’s when DeKalb EMS arrived and took over the treatment.
“It could have been a different outcome,” EMS responder Zarhar Washington said.
Thursday, they were all reunited, the Dekalb police officers, DeKalb Fire and EMS workers and Emory Saint Joseph’s Hospital staff that helped make today possible.
Harmon has since graduated from Emory and is heading to Florida for her residency.
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Sylvester learned he suffers from myocarditis, a serious and rare heart condition that causes inflammation along the heart wall. He is more careful now and says he and Haron talk often and will talk for the rest of his life.
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