Jay Ladner was seconds away from death this past February.
The Southern Miss head basketball coach was holding a normal conversation, but without any warning, Ladner’s face turned gray, and he immediately passed out. His heart had stopped and had gone into ventricular fibrillation, requiring medical personnel to jump on top of his body to compress his chest and then revive him with a defibrillator.
Besides being grateful to be alive, the experience left him with a new perspective on life as Ladner relived his heart attack that occurred during the Golden Eagles’ season to The Pine Belt News.
“When you are at death’s door, and you are given a second chance, you want to try to do some things differently,” said Ladner, who had no prior history of heart problems. “If I’m given another opportunity, I’m going to try to do a better job.”
It was no secret that the Golden Eagles’ season was the epitome of a stressful year, as drama caused by the NCAA transfer policy was evident while injuries plagued a team deemed capable of defending its Sun Belt regular-season crown.
However, the everyday stresses of the job, a poor diet, and a need for weight loss were the main factors that culminated in Ladner’s emergency. Leading up to his heart attack back on Feb. 6, Ladner and the team had been on the road for 13 out of 15 days.
“I think the stress had a lot to do with a lot of it and was a big factor,” Ladner said. “At that time of year, you have been going hard since the start of school. I think a lot of coaches experience this, and a lot of coaches have health problems.”
MY WIFE SAVED MY LIFE
Ladner’s Tuesday morning started normal. He went to a workout class on Southern Miss’ campus at 6:30, followed by a cup of coffee and then a Facetime call with his grandson. Then, as he lay on his recliner, his chest began to feel pain that, to Ladner, felt like gas. But the feeling never went away, and as the pain escalated, he soon broke out in a cold sweat.
“The pain began to radiate down to both of my wrists,” Ladner said. “Then it was like somebody poured a bucket of ice water over my head. My head was soaking wet. My shirt was soaking wet, and it was just a weird, weird feeling.”
Unknown to Ladner, it was the onset of heart attack symptoms. Ladner then went to the bathroom and laid on the floor before finally moving to his couch to ride out the discomfort.
Luckily, at the same time, Ladner’s wife, Jennifer, had been running late to work.
“My first reaction, which was stupid, was that I didn’t want to bother her with this,” Ladner remarked.
Jennifer’s instinct was to dial 911, but because of Ladner’s pride, they opted not to.
“I was so prideful,” said Ladner, regretfully shaking his head. “This is like one of the dumbest things that I have ever done.
“When you start feeling like that, you have got to get quick help because it literally was within seconds of costing me my life. I wouldn’t let her call 911 because I was embarrassed for the ambulance to come into the neighborhood. I was telling her I’ll be okay, but I was struggling.”
Ladner’s son, Luke, who plays on the Golden Eagles’ team, was awoken by Jennifer calling out to him.
“I kind of heard everything, and I started to wake up,” Luke said. “She called up to me. It was vague, but I knew from the tone of her voice at the time in the morning, and I thought what could be wrong.”
Finally, Jennifer decided to take her husband to the hospital, leading to what she recalls as the most stressful drive in her life. Hattiesburg’s rush hour traffic was at its peak in the morning, and Luke had planned to meet them at Forest General Hospital.
“We literally caught every red light,” Ladner said. “I said something to the point of I’m going to die at this red light.”
Jennifer then got out of traffic and began driving on the shoulder while trying not to hit other vehicles and cautiously going through red lights. Finally, off Hardy Street, a good Samaritan driver realized their car was experiencing an emergency and helped stop oncoming traffic.
“It was definitely very stressful,” said Jennifer, remembering the drive. “The lady in front of us must have realized what was going on because I had my flashers on. She nudged her car and, got the traffic to break a little bit and stopped the oncoming traffic. She stuck her arm out and said come on. I don’t know who she was, but she was a godsend.”
PRIORITIES
Ladner’s pride again got the best of him again as he arrived at the hospital and chose to walk into the emergency room while his wife parked the car.
“I walked in, and I realize now what a mistake that was because they triage you based on how you’re coming in there,” Ladner said. “They are asking me what my social security number is and if I have my insurance card, and I’m trying to keep my composure. Then there’s a guy coming to ask me about the game tomorrow night.”
Doctors quickly realized the urgency of Ladner’s situation, but as the coach was being brought into the hospital, his one focus was to give Luke all the instructions to pass along to his assistant coach for the upcoming practice.
“We’re talking about practice and who is going to run practice,” Luke said. “He’s mad at me because I’m at the hospital and not going to weights. Practice is supposed to be started at 8 a.m. He’s giving me instructions to give to Juan (Cardona). It was chaos.”
Moments later, Ladner passed out. Jennifer and Luke were then quickly escorted out of the room and into a waiting area where they could hear the defibrillator being used.
“They threw us out of the room,” Luke said. “We were just sitting there and praying. Both of us were crying and hoping that it would work out, and luckily it did… It was just a few minutes, but it felt like forever.”
Looking back, Ladner’s family waited at most 10 minutes to receive the fortunate news, but for Luke and Jennifer, the tense moment felt like it lasted much longer.
“For some of that time, I was panicking and thinking, oh my gosh, what am I going to tell his parents? That I didn’t get him there in time?” Jennifer said. “You kind of go back and forth…It was very scary.”
As the family would come to learn, Ladner had two blocked arteries.
“Had I waited or if Jennifer had not been running late to work, then I would not be here now,” Ladner said. “It’s a weird feeling even now to think that you were that close to dying.”
A DIFFERENT OUTLOOK
Ladner stayed in the hospital for three more days in case of a blood clot, but the coach would not lead the Golden Eagles for the rest of the season.
“I still feel bad about it and wish it wouldn’t have happened because I think we were still even with some of the injuries,” Ladner said. “We were still in a position to get some things done and we just seemed to kind of lose our momentum a little bit...I know it’s uncontrollable.”
For the rest of the regular season, Ladner had to rest and recover but returned to the sideline in moral support for the conference tournament. The time away from the game allowed him to think deeply about his life, particularly how his job has taken away time from his family.
“You realize what’s a lot more important,” Ladner said. “I’ve tried to do a better job with my family. I’ve missed so much of Luke and his sister’s things growing up because I had other obligations with other people’s kids. It’s not right. I’ve told them I feel guilty about it.”
Luke, however, was quick to set the record straight.
“Dad says he feels guilty for missing our stuff, but I don’t know how he was able to do things that he did with us,” Luke explained. “He would drive from Hammond to Bay St. Louis after school and then drive back.
“(This experience) kind of teaches you to enjoy life, and it’s not always about work. You have to keep in mind of what’s truly important.”
Looking ahead, Ladner knows that his first game back at coaching will be much different. Not just because of another possible health scare, rather it’s that Ladner has learned to not dwell as hard on the little things and maintain positive outlook.
“It’s definitely going to be on my mind, but not for just the first couple of games - it’s going to be on my mind for the rest of my life,” Ladner said. “I’m thankful to have another opportunity and blessed to be here every day. I wake up, and I thank the Lord every day that I’m actually here. I’m going to make the most of it.”
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