PARKLAND, Fla. – Rick Appin was riding a horse taking jumping lessons, when had the scare of his life.
"I was right next to the ring and I don't remember anything beyond that," Appin said.
He went into cardiac arrest while riding a horse named Nina at the Pine Hollow Equestrian Center. Thankfully for Appin, he said, trainer Meghan Green was nearby.
"I was scared," Green said. "I didn't know what to do, but I just reacted. Nine-one-one was on the speaker and they just said, 'You have to start compressions.'"
She continued CPR until paramedics arrived and took him to a hospital.
"They immediately induced me into a coma, and they did not expect me to live through the night," Appin said. "It was that bad. I had cardiac arrest. So family and friends from all over the world came to say goodbye in the ICU."
But Appin pulled through.
So Wednesday night the Parkland City Commission recognized Green for her life-saving actions.
"She breathed into me and that's what saved my life," Appin said. "We can't comprehend the whole thing."
Appin said he still doesn't know what triggered his heart to fail. However, he's well aware of how this could have ended.
"Best-case scenario was probably going to be serious brain damage, and as crazy as I am, I don't have brain damage, and I'm here to be able to speak to you," Appin said.
Will Appin get back on the horse? He already has. Just weeks after leaving the hospital, he was out riding.