Jeff's Story

Jeff Mills' Story:

My life was almost cut short this year. I survived, but without proper cardiac care and operating room equipment, many won’t.

The Executioner. That was the name of the boat I was asked to help fix. It’s also a fitting name for the boat that nearly took my life. After diving beneath to repair the vessel, I suffered a major heart attack.

I came out of the water, my skin was a pale grey colour and I felt uneasy.

I was dying.

I didn’t know that my life was trying to come to an end, but I knew something wasn’t right. I had to see a doctor and it had to happen right away.

Getting dressed for the hospital is when the pain hit. My chest got tight, my heart was failing.

How lucky am I? I didn’t have to drive for hours. I didn’t have to wait for days. I just had to get to my hospital.

When I arrived, there was no waiting. I was hooked up, loaded onto a stretcher and taken right to Dr. Paul MacDonald.  He told me “You had a heart attack 5 hours ago.” Dr. MacDonald never left my side. He kept me alive. But all I could think was, “I’m going to die…”

6 years ago, when we started the Mako My Day Shark Derby, we knew we wanted to give back to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital. I knew that everyone in my life has used the hospital or knows someone who has. I didn’t think that it would be me in urgent need of their services.

The Shark Derby has raised over $30,000 for the hospital so far. This year the money went to Operation Heart to ensure world-class care is offered here at home. We need more people to help us fund priority equipment and cardiac care in Cape Breton. We need heros who will save the next father from the grips of death.

Every dollar you give to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital Foundation stays at home in Cape Breton to help care for your family, friends and neighbors. Every single dollar.

Thanks to donations, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital had the proper equipment to keep me alive.

We can only keep people like me alive when we have our community’s support.

I want to teach my son how to fish, I need to make sure I can see him grow up. My heart attack almost took me away from my boy and my best friend and partner Allison, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital kept me alive.

Please help families in Cape Breton receive the care they need at the most vulnerable times in their lives. Please give to help keep families together and healthy in Cape Breton.

To make sure the next patients have access to important are, please give today. Your generosity can make all the difference in the world for the next patients in need.