Alpharetta swimmer returns to pool after surviving a near-fatal cardiac arrest

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Don Milich is back in the pool at the same place his story nearly ended during a swim practice. 

"It was on a Thursday morning we were halfway through practice," he said as he recounted what happened. 

The date was Jan. 19, 2023. 

"I just felt like I was literally swimming with a gorilla on my back," Milich said. 

Milich, who is in his 60s, was at Lifetime Fitness in Alpharetta training with his swim team when something just felt off. He struggled to get enough air then his heart suddenly stopped. 

"I just laid my head down to rest for a second and that's the last memory I have," he said. 

His watch captured what happened. There were heartbeats, then there weren't. 

Swim coach Boris Jerkovic and others pulled him out of the water. 

"I don't feel a pulse, I don't see him breathing and I realize I have to start CPR on him," Jerkovic said. 

Someone grabbed a defibrillator while Jerkovic got to work delivering life-saving CPR before Milich was rushed to the hospital. 

Twenty-two minutes after going into cardiac arrest, his heart started beating again. 

"I'm grateful I was there because he's here now," Jerkovic said. So, I knew that what I did helped." 

Milich says doctors told him his arteries were clear, and his cardiac episode was the result of an electrical short circuit. A hidden danger he did not know he faced. 

"I was extremely fortunate to be given the gift of life because people who were here were trained," he said. "They knew what to do, they had the equipment, they knew how to use it." 

Since his extremely close call, Milich has started volunteering with the American Heart Association to help battle heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States. He is not only raising money for the organization, but also pushing the benefits of learning CPR and having defibrillators readily available in workplaces and businesses. 

"I'm hoping that this story raises awareness," he said. "So, more people have a chance to make it, and then they can be a success story and go out and spread the news as well to everybody." 

As part of that effort, Milich will be taking part in the American Heart Association Heart Walk on Sept. 21.