PHOENIX (Feb. 25, 2025) – A Mesa man is lucky to be breathing today after a frightening experience that landed him in the hospital, where he continued to fight for his life for hours.
“I thought I was gone,” said Thomas Dille. “It’s such a miracle that I’m here today, and I couldn’t be more grateful to everyone who helped me stay alive despite the odds.”
In recognition of February as American Heart Month, Dille and his sister, Cathy, said they want to emphasize the importance of learning CPR, as it could be the difference between life and death for someone undergoing a life-threatening heart event.
Dille, 61, had just gotten into work before 7 a.m. on a Tuesday last month when the unthinkable happened: he collapsed suddenly and went into cardiac arrest.
One of his coworkers nearby immediately jumped into action and began CPR compressions on Dille. Several minutes later, crews from Phoenix Fire Department Station 21 took over compressions and found that he was experiencing ventricular fibrillation, where the heart can’t pump blood effectively. The first responders worked tirelessly on Dille — they continued to perform CPR and administered defibrillations and cardioversions to treat his abnormal heart rhythms and were able to resuscitate him multiple times after he lost his pulse. While providing lifesaving treatment in an ambulance, they transported Dille to Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix, where he was admitted to the emergency department, again without a pulse.
Over the course of two more hours, Dille received more CPR and lifesaving medical treatment while under the care of Dr. Todd Clever and a team of emergency medical workers at the hospital. After being resuscitated again several times, Dille was then sent to the cardiac catheterization lab, where he was implanted with an Impella, an artificial heart pump device to aid his weak heart. Despite having to be resuscitated once more, he survived the procedure and was sent to the intensive care unit soon after.
“It’s truly incredible how much he fought to stay alive that day,” Dr. Clever said. “From his coworker who began the initial CPR, to Phoenix Fire, to our entire team here at the hospital — we all never gave up on him.”
During the weeks after his procedure, Dille was closely monitored in the ICU as he slowly recovered. A few weeks after the near-death experience, he was alert and awake to greet Dr. Clever and some of the first responders from the Phoenix Fire Department who helped save his life.
About Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix
Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix is a large teaching hospital that has provided medical care to Arizona and the Southwest since 1911. It is part of Banner – University Medicine, a premier academic medical network. The institution, which has trained thousands of doctors over decades as a teaching hospital, is the academic medical center for The University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. The hospital, recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the nation’s best hospitals, specializes in heart care, cancer care, high-risk obstetrics, neurosciences, organ transplants, medical toxicology and emergency care, including a Level I trauma center. Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix is part of Banner Health, a nonprofit health care system with 33 hospitals in six states. For more information, visit bannerhealth.com/universityphoenix.
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