Jim Boylan – My Beating Heart

Jim doesn’t remember a thing. Marilyn, his wife, remembers everything.  Jim was riding his bike on a crisp, fall, Sunday afternoon with his wife and several friends in South Lyon, near a cider mill.

That’s when it hit him…

His whole heart pumping system stopped and he went down – no pain, no warning, Marilyn and her friend worked on him feverishly, but could not revive him.

When EMS arrived, they immediately went to work. It took 25 minutes for them to revive Jim.  I didn’t think they would be able to save him.  I was scared; what would I do without him?"

As fate would have it, they did save him and after a three-week in intensive care, and another three weeks of rehabilitation at the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, Jim was fitted with a pacemaker that not only helped pace his heart, but also acts as a defibrillator in case his heart stops again.

Through the miracle of modern medicine, this 74-year old athlete is doing all the activities he loves; biking, skiing, swimming, and most importantly as he says, he can do it with the one he loves – his sweetheart Marilyn.