Jordan has no memory of the morning he nearly died at Goodson Rec Center on July 7 while training for his second triathlon of the summer. But his coach, Nick Frasersmith, recalls every detail and the fear he felt.
Jordan Myhre the Survivor
“It was a regular practice,” he said. “There was no sign of anything different from any other day.”
Jordan had just finished the last set, touching the wall before anyone else, and gone straight into warm-down.
Suddenly, Frasersmith noticed that Jordan was swimming crooked. He saw him flip over on his back and sensed something wasn’t right.
Frasersmith yelled to another swimmer to pull Jordan to the side of the pool and raced over.
As the lifeguard called 911, a woman — a nurse arriving for a water aerobics class — offered to help.
They couldn’t find a pulse, so they started CPR. The coach did rescue breathing while the nurse performed the compressions.
The lifeguard rushed over with the AED, an automated defibrillator that detected that the rhythm of Jordan’s heart indicated the need for a shock. They wiped his body dry, applied the pads and began that work.
“It was very surreal,” Frasersmith said. “The weird part was why he was in this situation. It’s not like he hit his head or slipped and fell. I thought, ‘Breathe, wake up, do something.‘ ”
They shocked his heart twice before paramedics arrived.
“It was very scary,” Frasersmith said. “He did not look like he was going to make it.”
“It was the most horrifying, terrible thing that could happen to our son, but it happened in the perfect surroundings,” said his mother, Teresa Myhre.
“I feel fine, just like before,” Jordan said. “The only difference is this thing in my chest.”
Jordan Myhre's Pacemaker
He left the hospital with a pacemaker and a defibrillator, along with a diagnosis of Long QT syndrome, a rare heart-rhythm disorder that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats.
“I can’t believe I made it this long without anything else happening,” said Jordan, a lifelong athlete who said he loves to push his physical limits.
Learning of his diagnosis, Jordan’s older sister had herself tested for Long QT syndrome and discovered she also has it. She believes that his experience saved her life.
As for Jordan, his biggest challenge right now is taking it easy. He takes walks around the neighborhood but thinks the strolls are “boring.”
As for Jordan, his biggest challenge right now is taking it easy. He takes walks around the neighborhood but thinks the strolls are “boring.”
