Quick response at mcbhS saves life

BY KAYCEE MONNENS CORTNER

Ben McGee was awake when he arrived at the emergency room at Holy Rosary Healthcare in Miles City. Dr. KayCee Gardner Moore, his former hunting guide and physician at the hospital informed him, “Ben, you had a massive heart attack and you died.”

Last year at the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, McGee felt lightheaded while watching the Mother’s Day horse races on Sunday. Seconds after telling his wife he did not feel good, he collapsed in the grandstands, was not breathing, and had no pulse.

Bystanders in the crowd responded. A schoolteacher began CPR, and several EMTs and other medical professionals were in attendance. Dale Diede, a physician’s assistant from Ekalaka, rushed to help, monitoring pulse while CPR was administered by several people working in turns.

“When I got there, I certainly thought that it was a futile effort,” he said. Diede asked the off-duty EMTs present if there was a monitor available. There was, but it was in the ambulance, which sat in the infield with a horse race about to start. Paramedics couldn’t get across the track.

“We were on our own,” said Diede. “It felt like forever that they were doing CPR until the EMS got up to where we were,” said Rachel, McGee’s wife. Finally, they were able to cross, and an automated external defibrillator (AED) was available. There are different versions of the story, because of the chaotic situation, but McGees were told that Ben required four shocks to restart his heart. Before being loaded into the ambulance, he was awake and breathing on his own. He asked for his wife, and was annoyed with the paramedics for cutting his new Carhartt vest, a detail that is funny to the family now.

Tests at the hospital in Miles City showed that he had a massive heart attack, so he was quickly flown to Billings. There, it was discovered that McGee had seven blockages in his heart and within a day or two, he underwent a quintuple bypass surgery

– numbers practically unheard of in the medical field. “It’s amazing that he survived because that’s pretty significant,” said Gardner.

McGee’s doctor at home in Pennsylvania told him that the type of heart attack he experienced is called the “widowmaker,” because the victim shows no signs of pain or symptoms until it is too late. A mere 46 years old at the time, McGee’s only indication was recently experiencing shortness of breath. In fact, he had taken the preventative measure of making an appointment with his cardiologist for June after returning from Montana.

McGee is a regular hunting client of Gardner Ranch Outfitters of Hammond. Over the years, he had also taken his two daughters, and they were invited to come to the Gardner Ranch branding that spring. McGee and his family planned to experience their first Bucking Horse Sale and then brand a few days later as a family vacation. We “never really made it there,” McGee said.

Amazingly, McGee and his family toured Mount Rushmore the day before, walking around the base and climbing steps. He had also been at the Gardner Ranch in the days leading up to the Bucking Horse Sale. If the heart attack had occurred in either of those locations, so far from medical help, McGee would not have survived. By the grace of God, it seems, he just so happened to be at the Miles City Bucking Horse Sale when he had a major cardiac arrest, which was the exact place with the people in attendance to save his life. “I do believe God was with us at that time,” says Rachel McGee.

As it turns out, being flown to Billings for surgery was also the best medical care McGee could have hoped for. He recovered in an Airbnb near the scenic town of Red Lodge for 10 days until it was safe to fly home. High cholesterol and genetics were the culprits for McGee’s heart problems.

Another astounding feature of the event was that not only did McGee survive the heart attack, he has no noticeable issues afterward. Heart attacks present immediate danger because blood stops flowing to the brain and vital organs. This is why CPR (and sometimes the use of an AED) is so crucial, and with each minute that goes by, it is more difficult to bring a person back. “It also shows the importance of these new programs that we have like Heartsaver,” says Diede. “People need to learn CPR. Just like that, they could save a life.” Apparently, McGee’s daughter felt the same way, because she went home and became CPR certified.

McGee’s recovery went smoothly, and the family plans to resume their family vacation this May, taking in the rest of the Bucking Horse Sale and a branding or two.

“I just want to thank the people at the Bucking Horse and the first responders. The ambulance drivers, everybody that helped that day. There were so many people around us that helped clear people out of the way and off the benches. My wife said it was kind of surreal how fast it happened and everybody was so nice, so helpful,” says McGee. He looks forward to meeting the people who saved his life. “I can’t wait to see them and thank them and give them a hug. I can’t thank them enough.”

THURSDAY, MAY 18 - 8:30 P.M. MITCHELL TENPENNY CONCERT

Opening concert Acts kicking off at 6 p.m.

Stolen Roan -A hometown Miles City band playing “good ol country music.”

Copper Mountain Band - Copper Mountain Band is a high-energy country and classic rock group that can play any venue and appeal to any audience. The band was originally formed in 2007 and has toured off and on over the past decade to include multiple engagements in France. In 2020 the band decided to hit the road yet again to appease the fan base they created all across the United States and abroad, as well as fueling their passion to create outstanding live music!

From honkytonks to county fairs, if you can catch a CMB performance, you won’t want to miss the opportunity! Lead singer, Jacque Jolene has a fiery passion for her craft that is like nothing you’ve ever seen on stage. She can captivate any audience with her original tunes in addition to being able to cover just about any song request from country to rock ‘n’ roll and she is surrounded with outstanding musicians who simply love to play!