Not knowing his life would be forever changed, Steve Johnson headed into work on a June morning expecting a normal, if not slightly more stressful, day. He’d dropped off the dog to the vet and headed into the company’s conference room for an important meeting. The last thing Steve remembers from that morning is excusing himself to answer a phone call from the veterinarian’s office.
Days later, Steve awoke in a hospital bed at Columbus Regional Health to his wife, Linn, by his side.
On a warm summer morning Steve leans back against the chair in his downtown Columbus office to recount that fateful day, Linn by his side, again.
“They’d been trying to get me to wake up for quite a while, I guess, and it wasn’t working,” Steve said with a smirk. “The nurse asked my wife to try – she said, ‘go ahead and talk to him because he can hear you.’”
Linn chimes in, “Of course I’d been telling him how much I love him; how much we all wanted to see him,” she said. “Finally, I said, if you don’t open your eyes you’re never gonna get to ride that motorcycle again. And of course, that worked!”
Although Steve has a family history of heart disease and required a catherization procedure in his 40s, he continued to enjoy an active lifestyle and a love of running. On June 9, 2025 after stepping into the company breakroom to answer that phone call Steve suffered a massive heart attack, falling to the floor but not before hitting the side of his head on a nearby table. His son, Tony Johnson, who’d suffered his own harrowing heart event in the office just months before, heard the thud. Seeing his father lying on the floor, unconscious, with blood streaming from his face, Tony wasn’t sure what had just happened but he rushed to his dad’s side. Steve’s Apple Watch had dialed 911 the moment he fell; however, for minutes that felt like hours, Steve’s grandson administered CPR and two staff members utilized the newly installed defibrillator machine to keep a pulse until CRH paramedics arrived.
Upon being rushed to the CRH emergency department, Steve received a lifesaving procedure to restore blood flow; however, his journey to recovery was not yet over. He would require a quadruple bypass.
“Once I met with Dr. Hart, I knew CRH was the right choice and that I was in excellent hands,” Steve said. “Everyone came to us and made it easy. All in one visit, they sat us down and explained everything, gave us all the options and insights, and of course the risks. We never felt rushed, overlooked, or even persuaded to choose CRH.
“I felt like everyone in that room genuinely wanted what was best for me and they wanted me to be comfortable with it.” Following the surgery, Steve completed CRH’s Cardiovascular Rehab program under the nickname of “Motorcycle Man.”
After recently celebrating his one-year-post-surgery anniversary, Steve maintains his new lease on life – cruising on his motorcycle, soaking up time with family, and lacing up those running shoes again. As he reflects on his experience at least two sentiments are clear – a higher power at work, and the importance of local, quality healthcare.
“Everyone from start to finish was amazing. The people – nurses, doctors, therapists and all in between – were so caring and professional, but upbeat,” Steve said. “And they cared for my whole family too. We just can’t say enough about how blessed we are to have CRH in our community. I wouldn’t go anywhere else.”