It happened on August 4. Schoenbein was in a meeting in his office when he suffered cardiac arrest.
HOUSTON — Pasadena Mayor Thomas Schoenbein is back at city hall after suffering a cardiac arrest earlier this month.
He was welcomed back by some of the first responders who helped save his life less than two weeks ago. Memorial Hermann Life Flight nurses Michelle Bourgeois and Destiny Young joined several members of the Acadian EMS Pasadena team in surprising the mayor and wishing him well in his recovery.
The crews were among those who responded to Pasadena City Hall on Aug. 4, when Schoenbein suffered cardiac arrest.
According to the mayor, the medical episode happened during a meeting in the office of his chief of staff, James Holt, a former police officer. Schoenbein said he lost consciousness while sitting at a table and later learned that Holt and others called 911 and began CPR. Another Pasadena police officer who heard the call on the radio also responded, climbing six flights of stairs to reach the mayor and assist with treatment.
“God had me and everybody in the right place at the right time,” Shoenbein said. “It was his timing and I mean, I could have been driving. I could have been sitting in my office here and nobody around me. I could have been at lunch. I could have been anywhere and, you know, to have people around me that were ready to go. That’s, that’s God.”
Acadian EMS and Memorial Hermann Life Flight responded and flew Schoenbein to Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center. He was stabilized, and a few days later a cardiologist put in a pacemaker/defibrillator in his chest. Doctors have since cleared him to return to work.
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