A Heart Restored

For Dana Gomez, a Visalia native and longtime baseball coach, June 7, 2024, started like any other day at work. As a night shift employee, he was used to long hours and fatigue, but that morning felt different.

“I felt unusually winded, but I brushed it off,” he recalls.

Later, without warning, Dana collapsed—his heart stopped for 10 minutes.

At home in Tulare, his wife Tammy received an urgent call about an accident at his workplace. Unaware of the seriousness, she rushed to the local hospital. By the time she arrived, paramedics had successfully restarted Dana’s heart, but he was in critical condition. He was quickly transferred to Kaweah Health Medical Center, where a team of cardiac specialists worked to stabilize him, eventually implanting a defibrillator and pacemaker to regulate his heart.

Dana has little memory of those critical first days, but Tammy remembers every moment vividly.

“It was terrifying, but the care team was incredible. They walked us through everything,” she says.

Family gathered at the hospital, uncertain of the outcome. Dana, still unconscious, was receiving around-the-clock care as his medical team monitored him closely.

When Dana regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by family.

“I didn’t remember collapsing or what had happened,” he says. “But I remember waking up, hearing my wife call my name, and feeling grateful to be alive.”

He soon learned about the severity of his condition and the life-saving measures taken to keep him alive.

After being discharged from the hospital, Dana began his recovery with Kaweah Health’s in-home physical therapy. Twice a week, rehabilitation specialists guided him through exercises to help him regain strength and confidence.

“At first, it was just small stuff—walking, basic exercises—but it made a big difference,” Dana says.

This steady progress motivated him to keep pushing forward. Eventually, Dana transitioned to Kaweah Health’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program three times a week at Kaweah Health Rehabilitation Hospital for more-intensive therapy.

“I knew it was going to be challenging,” he admits. “It was tough, but I knew it was helping.”

Each session brought him closer to regaining his physical strength.

A graduate of Redwood High School, Dana was a pitcher for College of the Sequoias before being drafted by the Boston Red Sox in 1986. Today, he continues to enjoy life—coaching baseball, spending time with loved ones, and appreciating the small moments.

“It makes you appreciate the little things,” he reflects. “Just being able to walk outside, feel the wind, and see the trees. I’m just thankful to be here.”

Dana’s journey serves as a reminder that cardiac events can happen unexpectedly, but with determination and the right care, recovery is possible. Surviving cardiac arrest taught him to embrace life with a renewed sense of gratitude.