While vacationing and visiting family members in Central Ohio, Craig Burdick made the decision to leave his home in Pennsylvania and stay in the area.  He met Gina, and the two were soon married.  The couple settled in Heath, and Craig began serving as the pastor of a local church.  He also became a football referee.  After 13 years as a church pastor, Craig felt called to take on a new challenge, and accepted a position to provide pastoral services with a healthcare organization that operates a number of care facilities in the area.

As a local football referee, it is important for Craig to stay physically active and in good condition.  However, after taking the position with the healthcare organization, Craig had made minor changes in his routine that had a detrimental affect on his healthy habits.  He spent more time driving than he had in the past, and often chose to stop for fast food for meals while visiting the 17 different care facility locations.  Less activity and unhealthy food choices led to weight gain, and eventually Craig faced a frightening health crisis.

In June 2022, Craig was visiting the care facilities when he began to feel overheated and unwell.  At first, he thought the buildings were overly warm inside, and that he would feel better with some rest.  After returning home, Craig noticed tingling in his arm, but rationalized that the sensation was a side effect of a shoulder surgery that he underwent in the past.  None of the symptoms he was experiencing caused him concern or to consider a more serious cause, such as a cardiac event.  

“I guess with a family history of heart disease, I should have been more aware of the symptoms.  My father and three uncles all suffered heart attacks,” Craig revealed.  “Heredity is a major risk factor for heart disease.”  

Gina, a district nurse for Granville Exempted Village Schools, felt the symptoms were serious enough to warrant a visit to the Hospital, but Craig decided he just needed to rest.  The next morning, Craig woke early to make an hour and a half drive to a facility in Caldwell.  While getting ready to leave, Craig felt as though he needed to vomit and quickly made his way to a bathroom.  He also felt faint, and sat on the floor for a few minutes until he regained some of his strength.  Crawling to the couch in his living room, Craig found his cellphone and called Gina, who was upstairs asleep.  Gina immediately called 911.  The emergency medical technicians (EMTs) arrived quickly, and used a portable electrocardiograph (EKG) machine to test Craig’s heart rhythm.
 
“I was right in the middle of experiencing a heart attack.  At that point it felt as though an elephant was sitting on my chest, but the pain was actually radiating from my armpit,” Craig shared.  “The EMTs gave me nitroglycerin and some pain medication to relieve the symptoms.”  While being transported to Licking Memorial Hospital (LMH), Craig overhead the medics relaying his test results and current status to staff members at LMH over their radios.  When the squad arrived, Craig was rushed to the catheterization laboratory to have a stent placed in an artery that was 99 percent blocked.  In just 48 minutes from the time his wife called 911, the stent was placed, and the artery was reopened.

LMH has established a team of specialists, including Cardiologist Hassan Rajjoub, M.D., who are ready at a moment’s notice to respond when a patient is experiencing a cardiac event.  From the EKG, the EMTs knew Craig was experiencing a ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a heart attack caused by a blockage of a heart artery.  A STEMI is more serious and has a greater risk of serious complications and death than other cardiac events.  The heart muscle becomes damaged within minutes and could stop functioning all together unless the artery can be reopened.  For this reason, every minute from the onset of a heart attack is absolutely critical.    

“Dr. Rajjoub and his team were amazing.  They move together as though they were a well-oiled machine.  I was up and walking the halls soon after the surgery, and I went home two days later,” Craig said.  “It was also comforting to see a good friend of mine, Chaplain Cheryl Simpson, waiting in the Emergency Department for my arrival.”

As part of his treatment, Craig was referred to the Cardiac Rehabilitation Program.  The program focuses on restoring and enhancing both the physical and psychological health of the patients.  The specially trained staff work to develop an individualized health and fitness plan and provide healthy lifestyle information.  “I have been following the protocol they designed for me, and I have lost weight and feel so much better.  My goal was to be ready to referee when football season began, and the staff supported me wholeheartedly, pushing me when I needed it.  They were phenomenal,” Craig expressed.

While he now has to take medication, Craig feels his life is back to normal.  He continues to provide spiritual services to the residents of the care facilities and serve as the Chaplain for the Licking County Prosecutor’s Office.  He is grateful to be able to spend time with Gina, and their children, Austin, Scott, Caden, and Maria.  “Maria is only eight-years-old.  She is our miracle baby, born years after we thought we were done having children,” Craig said.  “It is important for me to stay healthy for her, and our boys.”