Cardiac arrest patient thanks Staten Island doctor for saving his life twice

By Lauren Glassberg

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    STATEN ISLAND, New York (WABC) — A Staten Island doctor was able to save the life of a cardiac arrest patient twice.

Pythagoras Aso works as a home health aide, but in November he was the one who needed aid when he suddenly collapsed. As it turned out, the 60-year-old had gone into cardiac arrest.

After life-saving work performed by EMTs, he was brought to Staten Island University Hospital, where Dr. Rohit Shahani performed extensive heart surgery.

“He got three for one operation and did fantastic,” Dr. Shahani said.

Five days after the surgery, he was discharged and told to wear a life vest. However, just one month later, Aso’s wife Veronica Motos found him struggling to stand still.

“I saw him falling down on the bench, and then so I pushed him up,” Moto said.

Aso described feeling dizzy and nauseous before Motos took him back to Staten Island University Hospital, where they learned he had gone through another cardiac arrest. Thankfully, he had that life vest.

“Dr. Shahani did the best for me, and I’m alive,” Aso praised.

Doctors were able to implant a defibrillator, should his heart need another jolt.

“I think this is truly a miracle because people don’t realize that the odds of us sitting here and having this conversation were less than five percent,” Dr. Shahani explained. “And that’s five percent in the best case scenario.”

Thankfully, Aso was able to experience that “best case scenario” twice.

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