54-year-old revived by worker outside Detroit bar after cardiac arrest

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Angels come in all forms. Just ask Derick Ballard.

The 54-year-old was running errands back in November when he stopped for food on Detroit's west side. When he left, he unexpectedly fell into cardiac arrest. If not for the luck of a passing good Samaritan, it may have been his last minutes alive.

"Just blessed to be here. I thank God every day I wake up, thank you, Jesus," Ballard said.

He spoke at Sinai-Grace Hospital, the facility he was taken to after his health scare. By the time he arrived, he was breathing on his own. But to understand how close he came to death requires going back to the moments he collapsed.

An employee by the name of Tony Washington was near Ballard when he fell, and quickly began performing CPR on him.

"I was pulling up to work and he was coming out the bar, and he just collapsed," he said. "His legs weren’t kicking, I said ‘check his pulse’, and we went from there. I can't get no heartbeat so ‘I said push his chest’."

Between CPR and supportive care from emergency officials, doctors and specialists were able to help revive Ballard. He was even able to leave the hospital in time for the holidays.

"We kept looking up at your chart just to see how you were doing and it seemed like every day you were getting better and better and better," Dr. Lyudmila Khait said. "You were awake and then, essentially, you were off life support."

On Thursday, Ballard celebrated alongside his heroes and loved ones, all of whom were awarded special survivor coins to remember the outcome. 

"I just thank him, i can’t thank him enough, because if it wasn’t for him I might not be here," said Ballard said of Washington.