Colorado man celebrates "second birthday" after surviving cardiac arrest

For the past eight years, Louis "Lou" Cicio has celebrated Jan. 30 as his "birthday." Not because it's the day he was born, but because it's the day he nearly died — and survived.

On Friday, the Boulder man was reunited with the doctor and medical staff who saved his life.

"I was brought to Good Samaritan because I had a cardiac arrest," he said. "I was resuscitated in my office and brought here, and that started this journey where they saved my life."

Doctors told him he had only about a 40% chance of surviving that day.

"When you've had cardiac arrest, that means you've already died once," said Dr. Shaheer Zulfiqar, an interventional cardiologist with Intermountain Health. "So the mortality with cardiac arrest is pretty high."

But Cicio's story beat the odds.

Not only did he survive — he returned to his everyday routine, riding his bike, exercising, and living a healthy life. And every year on the anniversary of his cardiac arrest, he comes back to the hospital where his life was saved.

"I come back every year on the anniversary day," Cicio said. "Thank you to the staff."

His way of saying thanks? Delivering fresh fruit to every department that helped save his life.

"Generally, when physicians come across a story like this, it makes you feel good about your profession," Zulfiqar said. "Somebody who probably otherwise would not be around is biking, surviving, and living a healthy life — that's the good outcome you hope for in medicine."

Hospital staff say patient visits like Cicio's are rare and deeply meaningful.

"They don't get too many patients visiting them," one staff member said.

For Cicio, the gratitude runs deep.

"It is amazing what we have as a health system to take care of someone like me," he said.