One October morning in 2006, renowned cardiologist Dr. Chauncey Crandall made an unexpected decision that would ultimately save a patient’s life. It wasn’t his Yale medical training or experience that guided Crandall, but faith.
The patient was a heavy-set, 53-year-old man named Jeff (last name omitted to protect his privacy) who was admitted to a Palm Beach Hospital emergency room after he suffered a massive heart attack. Crandall was the senior cardiologist on duty. Medical staff had been working on Jeff for nearly 40 minutes and had shocked his chest with a defibrillator six times by the time Crandall responded to the Code Blue call. Despite several attempts to start his heart, Jeff had flatlined, and his fingers and toes were turning black due to the lack of oxygen. Crandall officially declared him dead at 8:05 a.m.
