Actor gives thanks for new lease on life

Back in mid-September actor Warren C. Bowles gave a heart-stopping performance.

Literally.

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Actor Warren C. Bowles

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Image: Nathan Howard/Post-Bulletin

It was opening night of "Neighbors" at Mixed Blood Theater, and in one of the final scenes Bowles suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed.

Now the actor is giving thanks to those who made sure he'd see the curtain rise again.

Tonight at 8:30pm Bowles is publicly thanking the Hennepin County Medical Center paramedics who arrived on the scene.

In a release sent out today, Bowles acknowledged that he doesn't have any memory of the events that evening, but that doesn't matter:

"Someone said the work of the paramedics and first responders was miraculous. I didn't have a heartbeat and wasn't breathing. I was dead. But they saved me," said Bowles.

According to HCMC, Bowles was fortunate, because his cardiac arrest was witnessed by others, and CPR was administered right away.

HCMC says Bowles was also fortunate to have his heart attack in Hennepin County, because according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), people who suffer a cardiac arrest in Hennepin County have some of the best survival rates in the country.

Bowles will meet and thank Hennepin County Medical Center paramedics Gio Caponi and Wayne Schneider, and EMS Dispatcher Jake Cree, who were all involved in his care on the night of September 16.