He Suffered A Heart Attack On Lady MacDonald. A Remarkable Rescue Followed.

When Katie and Breton Lindoff set out to hike Lady MacDonald on Aug. 25, they expected to spend their day off enjoying one of Breton’s favourite trails.

The Cochrane couple packed food, water and extra clothing before making the drive to Canmore. The weather was clear, and nothing seemed unusual during the two-and-a-half-hour climb.

Breton, 42, had hiked the mountain several times before. A lifelong athlete and former professional hockey player, he was comfortable in the mountains. 

Katie, 35, was hiking Lady MacDonald for the first time.

“It was the prettiest, clearest day,” she told Bow Valley Insider. “There was nothing during the hike that was off. It was very normal for us.”

That changed shortly after they reached the old helicopter pad and sat down for lunch.

Breton removed his boots and socks, then leaned forward and told Katie he felt nauseous and dizzy. Within minutes, he was lying down with severe chest pain.

“I know him. This is not normal for him,” Katie recalled. “Something is clearly going on.”

She tried to give him water and food, then placed her watch on his wrist to monitor his heart rate. The reading fluctuated between roughly 40 and 140 beats per minute.

Katie initially called 811, hoping to speak with a nurse. When an automated message said she was the 34th caller in line, she hung up and called 911.

“I knew I couldn’t get him down the mountain by myself,” she said. “It would have taken me hours to do that, and by that time, it would just be too late.”

A Race To Reach Him

For about 30 minutes, Katie and Breton were alone.

She helped him lie down, elevated his feet and covered him with their extra clothing. She remained on the phone with emergency services as his pain intensified and he began losing feeling in his hands.

Breton remembers only fragments of what happened.

“I remember sitting down at the top, and I remember feeling a little nauseous, a little bit sick,” he said. “I know my body really well. I was an athlete my whole life, and I remember my heart feeling clogged. I knew something was not right.”

A passing hiker eventually stopped. When Katie asked if he had medical experience, he told her he had worked as an EMT about 20 years earlier.

He helped move Breton into a better position, checked his pulse and stayed with the couple.

Roughly 30 minutes later, a helicopter began circling overhead. Around the same time, two more hikers stopped to help: a doctor from Alberta Children’s Hospital and a urologist. According to Katie, they had hiked Lady MacDonald two days earlier and decided to return.

As emergency workers approached, Breton went into cardiac arrest. He seized, lost consciousness and no longer had a pulse.

One of the workers handed Katie an oxygen mask while the rescuers and one of the doctors began CPR and used a defibrillator to shock Breton’s heart.

“They were just super calm and really, really good about it all,” Katie said. “You’re kind of panicking internally, but they were just super calm.”

After about 10 minutes of chest compressions and repeated shocks, Breton regained a pulse.

The group placed him on a stretcher, secured him inside an airlift bag and prepared him for the helicopter.

Then he was in the air.

The Descent

Katie could not leave with Breton in the helicopter.

She packed their belongings and began hiking down the steep trail with their dog, not knowing whether her husband would still be alive when she reached the hospital. The hikers who had stopped to help stayed with her.

“The hike down was probably the worst part for me,” she said. “Your heart and head are kind of racing. I’ve got to get down this mountain and get to the hospital and pray and hope that he is still alive.”

It took her between an hour and an hour and 15 minutes to reach the bottom. Her sister-in-law had driven from Calgary and was waiting to take her to the Canmore hospital.

Breton had survived the flight but lost his pulse again around the time he arrived at the hospital.

Medical staff stabilized him enough to transfer him to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary, where doctors found a complete blockage in one of his main arteries. They inserted a stent later that day and restored blood flow.

The next concern was whether the cardiac arrest had caused brain damage.

By the following day, Breton was fighting the sedation and trying to remove his tubes. Doctors allowed him to wake earlier than expected.

He spent almost six days in hospital. His long-term memory remained intact, although he does not remember most of the hike, rescue or his first days in hospital.

“I don’t remember the hike, unfortunately, but besides the pictures, it looks like a nice day,” he told us. 

Recovering At Home

Since returning home, the couple has taken recovery very seriously.

Breton entered cardiac rehabilitation and has been cleared to walk and jog while monitoring his heart rate. He has also stepped away from his work as a crane mechanic for the time being.

“It’s kind of like a season of rest for me,” he said. “I’m able to just be at home and be around my wife.”

For someone who played professional hockey for seven seasons and remained active into his 40s, the heart attack was difficult to comprehend.

“I still have trouble believing that this would happen to me,” Breton said. “When you have discipline in your diet and you exercise, something like this can still happen.”

Katie is also recovering from the trauma of watching her husband fight for his life.

“We’re still in that period where it’s really hard,” she said. “I’m still, for sure, struggling with some of the PTSD of it all. It’s a lot to process.”

Their family, friends and community have supported them with meals, transportation and other daily tasks.

The couple also credits their faith with carrying them through the experience.

“I just feel like this whole thing has been a lot of prayers answered and a lot of miracles,” Breton said. “It wasn’t my time. I’m very, very grateful to be alive.”

What Matters To Them Now

Katie knows there was no way to predict that Breton would have a heart attack that day.

Still, she hopes their experience reminds others to carry extra clothing, food and emergency supplies, even on familiar trails in good weather. The jackets, socks and other clothing in their packs helped keep Breton warm while they waited for the helicopter.

“Yeah, it’s extra load when you’re hiking, which isn’t fun,” she said. “But then you get to the top, and if something like this happens, you are so grateful you have it.”

She also encourages people to learn CPR and refresh their training regularly. Her previous experience as a lifeguard helped her remain calm while help was on the way.

Most of all, Katie and Breton want to thank the hikers, paramedics, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers who helped bring Breton home.

“If you know anyone in your life who works in that field, just thank them for what they do,” Katie said. “They showed up to work that day and they were prepared and ready. My husband’s life was saved.”