'Thankful for life': Father of 3 survives cardiac arrest

One local man is "thankful for life" this holiday season.

Alex Gehle, a father of three, went into cardiac arrest in January. On Monday, he met with 10 Tampa Bay at Azalea Park in St. Petersburg, where he was when he first felt the symptoms.

"It's a lot to take in," said Gehle. "This was the spot where my life changed."

Gehle, then 32 years old, had been playing flag football when he began to feel nauseous. His 9-year-old son was there watching from the stands.

"He brought me some water, I got back out there, then 45 minutes later the tightness in the chest started," Gehle said.

That tightness only intensified until Gehle drove himself to the hospital. He went into cardiac arrest minutes after arriving.

Gehle, who lost his own father to a heart attack when he was 9 years old, said his mind went immediately to his children.

"From there, I was just begging them not to let me die. I was telling them about my daughters and how I have to walk them down the aisle one day. I was telling them about my son and how somebody needs to teach him how to be a man," he said

He said his heart stopped six times. It was the result of a blockage in his largest coronary artery. But with weeks of medical life support and the help of an "Impella Heart Pump," Gehle made a full recovery.

"Life is a gift that can change and be taken from you at any moment," he said.

Now, he's urging other men not to let warning signs go ignored.