Loyola doctor saved fan who suffered cardiac arrest at start of one of "Cardiac Bears'" signature wins
This year's Bears team has earned a high-stakes nickname – the "Cardiac Bears" – thanks to seven 4th quarter comeback victories, and that moniker might be truer than you know.
A Chicago doctor saved another fan's life at Soldier Field this season after she suffered a medical emergency in the stands.
When the Bears took the field for their last regular season game this month, there were some special spectators on the sidelines – Laura Hart, her family, and one of the good Samaritans who saved her life weeks before.
Dr. Ethan Sterk, an emergency medicine physician at Loyola University Medicine, was at the Bears-Giants game on Nov 9. He and his son, Evan, had just settled into their seats before kickoff when his son pointed out a fan in distress.
"I told my son, 'You've got to run down and get help,'" Sterk said.
Hart was suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, so Sterk went to work.
"I didn't feel a pulse, so I started doing CPR," Sterk said.
Just like the sport that Bears fans were there to watch, no one wins alone. Hart was joined by another good Samaritan, a police officer from Iowa, Riley McIntyre. The two took turns administering CPR.
"It felt like forever. It probably was a couple of minutes," Sterk said.
Hart would be taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she remained for two weeks. The Bears would end up winning that game in thrilling fashion, with the Bears scoring two touchdowns in the final four minutes of the 4th quarter to beat the Giants 24-20.
Sterk said it's a little too soon for him to adopt the "Cardiac Bears" nickname, but it rings true with a win streak continuing on the field and in the stands.
"I mean, all I can say in looking back at that day, it was great that the Bears had another come-from-behind victory; but, in my mind, the team effort that went on in section 444 was the biggest win that day," he said.
Sterk said this was the second time that he's had to spring into action outside of the hospital.
As for his son, who played a crucial role in trying to get some help into the stands, he's 18, a senior in high school, and looking at pre-med programs for college.
Sterk wasn't able to meet Hart on the sidelines as the Bears took on the Lions in the regular season finale, but he said he hopes they can reunite soon, and the Bears have offered to make that happen.
He also said he hopes this story underscores the importance of CPR training and AED devices, the kind of automated defibrillators often found in public spaces.