*Melissa Keil, pilot Jay Miller, Jeff and Jamye as they were leaving Cleveland Clinic and heading home.*

To paraphrase John Lennon and Paul McCartney, at one time or another we all “get by with a little help from our friends.” These words ring especially true for local orthopedic surgeon, Jeff DeHaan. After suffering a major heart attack overseas at age 62 in 2017, Jeff is alive today thanks to God, doctors at various hospitals, his wife, Jamye, and most definitely, his friends.

*Friends Lana Carmeli, Ray Walsh, Lisa Howell, Mel Walsh, Amy Warren, Lloyd Champion, Bobby Howell, Bobby and Bertha Shipp met Jeff and Jamye at the airport to welcome them home after Jeff’s ordeal.*

In August 2017, Jeff, Jamye, and a group of friends embarked on a Viking river cruise sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. The DeHaans and their friends began the trip in Paris, enjoying four days there and at Normandy before they joined the river cruise on the Danube River. The boat would dock at ports along the Danube, on its way to Vienna. One day, after returning to the boat, “we were visiting, waiting at the back of the boat, when Jeff decided to walk to our room,” Jamye explains. “He did not mention anything, and he was not feeling any symptoms. I was tired, so I followed Jeff to the room.” Jeff went to bed, while Jamye texted nieces and nephews. All of a sudden, “I heard a loud snore, and I looked over, but not really at Jeff. I heard another loud snore. Jeff’s face was red, and immediately I knew that something was wrong.” The DeHaans kept nitroglycerin by the bed, as Jeff had suffered a previous heart attack. “I put it under his tongue and started CPR. I had learned it years before.”

*Jamye with Jeff’s daughters, Brittany and Karlee, visiting with him while he was a patient at St. Paiten Hospital in Austria.*

Jamye began compressions, yelling for help. She opened the door for other passengers to hear her. People started coming to help, immediately their friend Mel Walsh, and then others, including friends Melissa Keil and Lisa and Bobby Howell. Jamye further states, “It was a miracle that a nurse anesthetist, Brian Neal, was in his room next door. He took over the compressions. I learned that I was not doing them hard enough. Jeff was practically popping up off the bed with each compression Brian did.” I hit my knees and started praying,” Their friends met in the Howells’ room, where they all prayed. “He was dead. He really was,” Lisa adds.

*Jamye and Jeff cohosted the Heart Ball in 2018, the year after Jeff’s heart attack in Austria. Pictured with them is Brian Neal, the one who performed CPR on Jeff and saved his life.*

The riverboat docked in a new port, and Melissa explained that a car and ambulance met them to take Jeff to a hospital. Until then, Brian Neal continued CPR, telling Jamye that he needed to keep Jeff’s blood flowing. “He didn’t stop for 35 minutes,” Jamye says. “There was no doctor or medical staff onboard the boat. The AED instructions were not written in English, but Brian said that we did everything right. God was in control. We had never met Brian before. It was a God thing that he was there.” Melissa adds, “Jamye really thought that Jeff was gone.”

At the hospital, Jeff was hooked up to heart monitors, which indicated a heartbeat. “I was bawling,” Jamye recalls. “I never took my hands off of Jeff. Melissa told me to straighten up. ‘I don’t want Jeff hearing you,’ she said.” Jamye grabbed Jeff’s hand, and he responded. “He squeezed my hand.” “This is when I knew that Jeff would be alright,” Melissa remarks. At this point, Melissa left the hospital to resume the cruise, and the Howells stayed with Jamye, along with friends, Mel and Ray Walsh.

“A female doctor told Jamye that Jeff needed surgery,” Lisa explains. Surgeons put four stents in Jeff, and he made it through. However, Jeff had not woken up yet. “We realized we were in for a long haul,” Lisa says, as the doctor told Jamye that they need to go to another hospital for a scan. Jeff’s chances of survival were at 30% at this point. He was in renal failure and needed dialysis, which the second hospital did not provide.

Lisa stayed with Jamye while Bobby and the Walshes returned to the United States. Jamye had been in touch with Jeff’s local cardiologist, Dr. Hurley, who had said that it was not uncommon for Jeff’s kidneys to fail after a heart attack. “This hospital did not have dialysis. We were in a place where we weren’t getting help. The female doctor was very kind. I hadn’t been sleeping, and she let me sleep in the doctor’s lounge, sharing food with me. Lisa stayed all night, holding Jeff’s hand,” Jamye states. The next morning, Jeff’s numbers were looking better, and Lisa and Jamye loaded in an ambulance with Jeff. “Everyone was crying as we left, even the doctor,” Jamye said.

After a long drive, the DeHaans and Lisa arrived at the third hospital, St. Polten University Hospital in Austria. Jeff’s daughters, Brittany and Karlee, flew over to visit him. “We weren’t sure if Jeff would make it,” Jamye says. Jeff started dialysis but given that they were not communicating well with the hospital due to language barriers, they considered flying back to America. “Bobby told us to err on the safe side and come,” Lisa explains. “We had a group in Texarkana who were willing to help us. Jim Bunch had a plane if we needed it. We were at our wit’s end with the communication,” Jamye states.

Bobby and Lisa Howell, Mel and Ray Walsh, and Jamye and Jeff at The Palace of Versailles. This group of friends visited Paris for several days before meeting friends in Austria for the Danube River cruise.

After 10 days at St. Polten, Jeff was making gradual progress and growing stronger. With the aid of Chris Karam, Jeff was able to move to Cleveland Clinic. Although he does not remember most of the events, Jeff recalls flying in an air ambulance “on a gurney, from Vienna to Iceland to America.” Lisa flew to Cleveland with all of their luggage, and Melissa joined them there to help return Jeff to Texarkana. “Jeff was throwing a fit to get out of Cleveland,” Melissa comments. Jamye adds, “The Cleveland doctors all came in to look at him, as a special case. ‘He shouldn’t be alive, and he should not be communicating as well as he was,’ they said.” According to the DeHaans, Jeff could be released from Cleveland Clinic if he passed a neurological test. “I told them to bring it on,” Jeff says. “My two little buddies (Jamye and Melissa) took it with me, and who came in first?” he quips. “He was cranky and fussy,” Lisa comments. Thanks to Jim Bunch and other friends, they were able to secure a plane and get home to Texarkana.

Four and a half years later, Jeff is doing well. He has not had any heart-related issues since the trip, and he has made some changes to his diet. “Jamye takes good care of him,” Melissa comments. “That’s why he’s ticking and working,” Lisa chimes in.

Jeff resumed his orthopedic practice, performing surgery three months after his heart attack, although he has since reduced his work hours. As advice to others traveling with health conditions, Jeff recommends that people stay on top of their checkups and listen to their bodies. Jeff and Jamye suggest that people with heart issues travel with a portable AED, if possible, and they both encourage more people to learn CPR. As Jamye says, “Brian Neal is really something. It was a God thing, all the way.” She also recalls, “My mom and my sister called every church to pray for Jeff. The power of prayer is a real thing. Jeff was dead. He is a living miracle.” Thanks to the help of his friends, Jeff DeHaan is more than getting by. He is testament to the love and support of Jamye and good friends, the care of doctors, and of course, the hands of God.

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