BRANDON, Fla. — A man who suffered a heart attack while jogging and arrived at Brandon HCA Florida Hospital as a ‘John Doe’ last December shared that he has never met the person who saved his life. Now, six months later, he has finally connected with the good Samaritan.

What You Need To Know

  • Drew Overlee has never met the person who helped save his life after seeing him collapse from a heart attack in late December

  • Overlee went into cardiac arrest while on a run a few days before Christmas and a few days before his 64th birthday, both of which he celebrated at Brandon HCA Florida Hospital

  • Following his collapse, Overlee encountered Jake O’Brien, a good Samaritan who called for help and started CPR until paramedics arrived

  • Paramedic Lieutenant Tobi Porter and Jake O’Brien were honored by the Brandon HCA Florida Hospital and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for their heroic efforts

“It took six minutes for firefighters to arrive on the scene,” said Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Lieutenant and Paramedic Tobi Porter.

Those were the critical minutes that heart attack survivor Drew Overlee said saved his life after he collapsed while jogging along Bloomingdale Avenue. He said fate was on his side.

“If I would’ve gone out towards Durant Avenue, there would have been nobody there. I would’ve gone. I was meant to take that left,” said Overlee.

Following his collapse, Drew encountered Jake O’Brien, a good Samaritan who called for help and started CPR until paramedics arrived.

“His heart rate kept dropping and dropping and dropping,” said O’Brien.

Six months since that crucial day, Overlee and O’Brien are finally meeting again.

“When you die and you do come back to this, you thank your lucky stars,” said Overlee. “I love you, man,” he said while hugging O’Brien.

O’Brien mentioned that he had never performed CPR during an emergency before, but he was grateful that he was present that day.

“I remember like seeing him run by my door. And then, I just happened to look up,” said O’Brien. “There’s a bunch of people that know CPR. They won’t ever have to use it, but it’s better to not have to use it than being in that situation and not knowing what to do.”

Porter and O’Brien were honored by the Brandon HCA Florida Hospital and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue for their heroic efforts.

“We do a job every day, and a lot of times, it’s a negative outcome because we can’t get there in time, so it’s so important,” said Porter.

Overlee is now committed to learning CPR himself and encourages others to do the same.

“The universe works in mysterious ways. The energy and the God force of life is amazing,” he said.

He describes his medical scare as an experience that has brought him closer to his family and the community, who came together to save his life. Overlee is a marathon runner and is still in recovery. He says he hopes to start running again within the next six months.