KERNERSVILLE, N.C. — State Trooper Ethan Bradshaw always wanted to be a dad. But he almost missed the chance to see the birth of his son due to a medical scare.
Bradshaw grew up with strong father figures in his life, who he says gave him the playbook on how to be a dad.
“My dad and my grandparents were all really tight growing up... they were at pretty much every sporting event, even all the way up to high school and then college,” Bradshaw said.
When his wife, Mickaela Bradshaw, told him they were expecting, his world fell into place.
“I started crying like a little baby — so overwhelmed with joy, I cried for probably a good 30 minutes," Ethan Bradshaw said. "She was actually recording us [when she told me we were pregnant]. I watch it on my phone every now and then. It just makes me tear up just thinking about it."
As baby prepping got underway and excitement continued, Bradshaw began having unexpected chest pain while at the gym.
“I don't remember anything since after the gym from what I've been told.... I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest, pain in my left arm, nauseous, the jaw pain and everything. And my buddies that I called that were medics, they're like, ‘Hey, man, you're having a heart attack. And you get to a hospital,’ Of course, me being 30 and being in fairly good shape, I’m like ‘I’m not, I'm fine,’” Bradshaw said.
As soon as Bradshaw got to the E.R. waiting room and Mickaela Bradshaw arrived, he collapsed.
“I am thinking we're starting our new life together, and I'm not sure if he was going to make it that day. So it was a lot of overwhelming feelings happening on that day. It felt like forever,” she said.
Ethan Bradshaw says his family has a history of heart disease but thought he was too young to experience issues. After almost an hour of CPR and other lifesaving measures, he was given the Impella CP, the world’s smallest heart pump, which was later removed.
“They started getting me stable. The first thing I did was I started making a belly, a stomach motion with my hands asking for my wife because I couldn't talk because I was under the life support,” Bradshaw said.
As he got stronger, Mickaela Bradshaw, at four months pregnant, stuck by his bedside at the hospital.
“She's a rock star in all this. She's the reason I'm here. I just kind of laid there, and the doctors and my wife did what they needed to do. They deserve all the praise,” Bradshaw said.
A few months later, their son Ryan was born.
“Ethan is a great father. I knew he always would be. To be honest, we've been together a total of 13 years, and from day one, he's wanted to be a dad," Mickaela Bradshaw said. "That's why also it was so emotional when all of that happened is because I knew finally we were doing this together as best friends, going through this life. And for something scary like that to happen where he may not get his wish."
Ethan Bradshaw said he owes his life to the heart pump and the doctors and medical staff who helped him. He got a chance to visit the maker of the device, Abiomed, in Boston. He shook hands with everyone who worked on his pump based on the serial number and got to try his hand at inserting the pump in a dummy.
“My wife and my son and I just try to enjoy every day and try to not let any other small stuff get in the way,” Bradshaw said.
He urges all men to go to the doctor regularly and make appointments if something feels off.
“It doesn't define us, but we have to stay on top of it so we're here for our loved ones and I can be the best father, the best husband, the best trooper, the best friend that I can be,” he said.
And he remains thankful to be a father.
"It’s the best feeling ever, but on top of being married to his mom, being a dad’s the second best thing to ever happen to me," Bradshaw said. "He’s my everything."
The National Library of Medicine says men are more likely than women to have a heart attack and can develop cardiac disease almost a decade earlier than women.