From patient with little hope to medical miracle

Within a few weeks, John Chikos went from being a fast-paced commodities trader to a patient given little hope to a man making a medically miraculous recovery.

After a massive heart attack that cut off blood flow to Chikos' brain for 15 to 20 minutes — irreversible brain damage usually sets in after three to five minutes — doctors gave him less than a 10 percent chance of recovery. Chikos proved them wrong.

“Lucky is an understatement,” said the Lincolnshire man, who is home recovering.

Chikos and his wife, Diane, both 61, were driving into Chicago to pick up their daughters to attend a benefit when he started feeling strange. He pulled off the road and started pacing. As his wife went to see what was wrong, he collapsed.

Paramedics arrived within minutes because a passer-by had stopped to call 911. After shocking Chikos' heart and getting no response, the paramedics rushed him to Illinois Masonic Hospital.

When doctors got his heart pumping, they realized the severity of the heart attack and rushed him into surgery.

Doctors found a 100 percent blockage on the largest artery — nicknamed the widowmaker — and placed a stainless steel stent in his heart. However, he was in a coma and needed a ventilator to breathe.

With 50 to 60 doctors, nurses and emergency personnel working together, Dr. Peter Stecy, an interventional cardiologist at Illinois Masonic, said it was the perfect example of teamwork that saved Chikos' life.

“In my mind, it's just a tribute to the teamwork and the response,” Stecy said. “Had the EMS not rushed to the scene, nothing else would have mattered.”

Doctors also used cooling procedures to lower Chikos' body temperature to avoid brain damage.

“I was fairly optimistic about his heart, but I was extremely worried about the permanent damage to his brain,” Stecy said. “I was trying to prepare them for the worst, but not extinguish all hope.”

Diane Chikos said she and her four daughters never gave up hope and had a large network of family and friends surrounding them with thoughts and prayers.

“We refused to believe that he wasn't going to be OK,” said Diane, who has been married to Chikos for 38 years. “He has always been one to beat the odds.”

Stecy said one thing he's learned during nearly 30 years as a cardiologist is people can be surprising.

And Stecy was the most surprised person in the room when he found Chikos awake, using his laptop and making business calls days after the heart attack.

“It was one of the most gratifying cases I've ever had a chance to be a part of,” Stecy said. “There's a lot of sorrow that takes place in the hospital, so for this to happen, especially around the holidays, was very uplifting.”

When Chikos woke up and started talking, Diane said, she and her family were crying and screaming so loudly the nurses thought something was wrong.

“The emergency medical team really should be commended,” she said.

Chikos doesn't remember the heart attack, so he's only heard the story from his family and doctors. He went home from the hospital Dec. 22, just in time for Christmas.

“It was like no one needed any gifts,” Diane said. “He was it.”