Chesterfield firefighter reunites with man he saved from cardiac arrest 28 years ago

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. — A Chesterfield County fire captain and the man he saved from cardiac arrest nearly three decades ago have reunited, sharing a long-overdue handshake and a chance to reflect on the day that almost changed everything.

Fire Captain Joe Harvey and resident Edward Craze recently met to talk about the events of August 28, 1998 — the day Craze went into cardiac arrest and Harvey, then a newly trained paramedic, helped bring him back to life — twice.

"I woke up my wife, and I said, 'Dial 911 because I think I'm having a heart attack. Don't get upset.' Well, she did get upset, but she could dial 911, and of course, that's when the rescue squad was sent to my house,'" Craze said.

Harvey had just finished paramedic training when he responded to Craze's home as part of the rescue squad. After reviving Craze once, Harvey said Craze went back into cardiac arrest within minutes.

"Within a handful of minutes, the same thing occurred. He went back into ventricular fibrillation, and I was able to defibrillate him again, and he woke back up," Harvey said.

Craze recalled the moment he regained consciousness.

"The next thing I know, I opened my eyes, and Joe was over top of me, saying, 'Are you with me? Are you with me?'" Craze said.

Craze was taken to the hospital, where he survived surgery.

"I had died twice, and he'd brought me back, and that was like over 28 years ago now," Craze said.

28 years later, Craze picked up the phone and called the man who saved his life. Harvey said he knew immediately who was on the other end of the line.

"He called our office to get a hold of me, when the secretary said, 'There's somebody on the phone that says you saved his life 28 years.' I knew exactly who she was talking about," Harvey said.

The reunion gave the two men a chance to shake hands, talk, and catch up on the life Craze has lived since that day.

"My life from that time on has been fantastic. I've seen one of my daughters was already married, the other daughter had not gotten married yet, and then she did. So I've been through that," Craze said.

For Harvey, seeing Craze in person after so many years was a reminder of why the work matters.

"We see a lot of death in this profession, and to be able to see him and talk to him 28 years later to know that he's had, you know, been able to see grandchildren born and, you know, things of that nature just is super rewarding," Harvey said.

Craze said the experience reshaped how he sees everything that has come since.

"You know, you appreciate everything, you know. Regardless of what comes at me now, I've been given 28 years plus," Craze said.

The two men say this reunion will not be their last.

"This will not be a one-time meetup. We will definitely be meeting. I have his cell phone number. He's got mine now, and we will definitely make it a point to make contact with each other every so often and stay in touch," Harvey said.

The reunion also came with an unexpected connection. When asked to spell their names during an interview, Craze mentioned his middle name — Guy. Harvey immediately recognized it as the name of his 21-year-old son. The two laughed at the coincidence.