Suffolk man survives heart attack and reunites with LI nurses who saved him

Because of these quick-thinking Northwell nurses, Daniel Greco was able to attend his grandchild’s graduation ceremony and celebrate his wedding anniversary.

Rachel Yonkunas

Jun 27, 2024, 9:25 PM

Updated 167 days ago

Share:

A Lake Grove man was able to return to the scene where he died and meet the Long Island nurses who saved his life.
Daniel Greco, 83, made his usual stop at the ATM inside the Northwell Health Corporate office in Melville on April 30. Before he could even make a transaction, he suddenly collapsed and went into cardiac arrest.
He survived the near-death experience all because Kalie Kerschbaumer was at the right place, at the right time.
“I don’t typically go out at that time,” said Kerschbaumer. “I went out early that day and my son and I walked to the building together.”
Kerschbaumer works in the building as a process improvement engineer for Northwell NetworkCare. She arrived just seconds after Greco collapsed and yelled to her colleagues for help.
“I screamed,” said Kerschbaumer. “The whole suite heard me.”
A team of Northwell nurses rushed to Greco’s side. Whitney Sinowitz, a nurse practitioner, got to him first.
“I didn’t really think,” said Sinowitz. “Just immediately started CPR and kind of sprung into action.”
Soon, the entire Northwell NetworkCare team was in the building lobby, switching off doing CPR, using the defibrillator and calling 911. They restarted Greco’s heart twice within 52 seconds of his collapse.
“It’s emotional,” Sinowitz said. “You’re not expecting this when you walk into this office setting.”
Few moments will ever come close to saving a life--except the moment the nurses were able to reunite with Greco. Two months after the event, Greco went back to the Melville office and meet the nurses who brought him back to life.
“I would like to thank them individually because they gave me another life,” Greco said.
Because of these quick-thinking Northwell nurses, Greco was able to attend his grandchild’s graduation ceremony and celebrate his wedding anniversary.
“This whole story could have been very different had these girls not done their fantastic job,” said Bonnie Greco, his wife.
The 83-year-old said he never had any previous heart conditions or problems, but it turns out he had multiple blockages.
Greco was taken to the Sandra Atlas Bass Heart Hospital at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset where he underwent triple bypass heart surgery and an aortic valve replacement.
The Suffolk County man has made a full recovery and said he wants to use his “new life” to pay it forward.
“I would hope I could do something that helps somebody else,” Greco said.
Doctors said there are screening tests for the types of blockages that Greco had and stress the importance of routine heart checkups.