The rhythm of a miracle: Craig Morroni's Highline Canal story

On a quiet October afternoon, Craig Morroni set out for what was supposed to be a routine bike ride along the Highline Canal Trail. It was a simple 45-minute trip to his son’s house for a family dinner.

"The only thing I remember is basically leaving the house ... headed out on a bike. After that, I don't remember a thing," Craig said. He never arrived. Instead, Craig became the heart of a miracle that proved how a chain of strangers and professionals can hold a life together when it begins to slip away.

The first response: a song in the dark

The peace of the trail was suddenly broken when Joyanne McShea spotted a figure on the pavement. “I saw an unconscious person on the ground … his bike was there, he still had his helmet on,” Joyanne said. Craig was lying flat on his back, silent and still.

Joyanne, a speech therapist trained in CPR, did not hesitate. Finding no pulse and no breath, she began chest compressions while a woman in a nearby van called 911.

A passing runner heard screams for help as he made his way back toward his car, nearing the end of a long training run. He had about two miles left when he saw Joyanne performing chest compressions and realized immediately how serious the situation was. That runner was Seguin Guerrero.

“At first, my thought was honestly, ‘I don’t know if I can help,’” Seguin said. “I’m an engineer, I don’t deal with medical emergencies. But when I saw Joyanne doing compressions, I knew this was something I actually had training for.”

Just one week earlier, Seguin had completed his CPR recertification at work. Without hesitation, he knelt beside Joyanne and the two began working together, a coordinated, two-person CPR effort. As Joyanne maintained steady compressions, Seguin provided rescue breaths, repeatedly checking for signs of breathing or a pulse.

“It was kind of surreal,” Seguin said. “There were moments where his pulse was very weak, moments where I couldn’t find one at all. He wasn’t breathing on his own. So, we just kept going.”

To keep the correct rhythm, Joyanne softly sang “Stayin’ Alive” under her breath, anchoring the pace as the seconds stretched on. Eventually, Craig began breathing faintly on his own — a fragile but critical sign — just as emergency responders arrived and took over care.

“It felt like forever,” Seguin said. “But we just focused on doing exactly what we were trained to do until help got there.”

The professional hand-off and stabilization

Officer Belding of the Cherry Hills Village Police Department arrived first to take over compressions. "I checked his pulse, and I checked his breathing before I started... there was no pulse, no breathing," Belding said. "He was just, he was dead.”

When South Metro Fire and emergency medical services crews arrived, the coordination was seamless. Jason Vollmer, an EMS supervisor, joined the primary paramedics on the scene: Joe Douglas, Sarah Bishop and Kyle Sanchez. The team worked simultaneously to deliver shocks with a defibrillator, start IVs and insert an advanced airway. Vollmer noted that because a bystander immediately initiated CPR, Craig had a fighting chance.

Precision in motion: the journey to HCA HealthONE Swedish

As the medic unit sped toward HCA HealthONE Swedish, Vollmer described the critical communication unfolding in real time. “It’s usually communication from whoever’s driving — ‘Hey, we’re eight minutes out. We’re five minutes out.’”

At the five-minute mark, the bio phone rang, alerting the emergency department that a cardiac arrest patient was inbound. That call activated the ER care team, allowing them to prepare before Craig ever crossed the threshold.

When the doors opened, a coordinated group was already in motion. Julie Enriquez, CNC, helped lead the rapid clinical response, ensuring resources, personnel and workflow aligned instantly. Eunseo “Alice” Lee, the primary nurse in the ER, assumed bedside coordination, translating the incoming EMS report into immediate action.

Samantha Goldman, a paramedic working in the ER, partnered seamlessly with EMS to continue advanced life support without interruption, while Alexis Cox, ER technician, moved swiftly to support procedures, monitoring and equipment readiness. Overseeing the entire resuscitation effort was Dr. Peter Bakes, ER attending physician, whose clinical leadership guided decision-making during the most critical moments of Craig’s care.

Vollmer later reflected on the handoff: “Nothing throws us off more than being surprised. We had accurate information from the start.” That preparation allowed the ER team to move with precision — no wasted seconds, no lost momentum — preserving the fragile progress that had begun on the trail.

The long 72 hours: Mary’s vigil

While the medical teams worked with clinical precision, the experience forCraig’s wife, Mary, was an emotional whirlwind. She had been at her son’s house, wondering why "Grandpa" was late for dinner, when the call came from the emergency room. Craig was placed in a medically induced coma for 72 hours.

During those three days in the ICU, Mary leaned on the transparency of the care team. "They communicated very directly the reality of his circumstances and the treatment he was receiving," Mary said. This open communication allowed her to be a grounded anchor for her husband. "The communication that the hospital had with me ... that's what gave me the confidence to say to Craig when he came to, 'We've got this.’”

The moment of true relief came when a neurologist looked at Craig’s brain activity and said, "He’s in there.”

"That meant everything ... that he was going to be back as Craig,” Mary said.

Waking up and looking back

When Craig first regained consciousness, his professional instincts kicked in before he realized the gravity of his situation. "In my engineering brain, I'm thinking about some procedures that I wrote for a customer and I realized that I missed a step in one of those procedures," he recalled. Seeing Mary eventually "shocked him into a realization" of what had happened.

While Craig was used to being in control, this experience shifted his worldview. "In a situation like this, you realize that you don't have control, you must completely rely on those that are around you," Craig explained. He was stunned to learn that the hospital specialists were "scratching their heads" because they didn’t find any evidence of heart or brain damage.

A reunion of gratitude

Craig later calculated that few people survived an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. He insisted on a reunion to thank everyone involved. "When I was able to look directly into the eyes of people that I had met ... and to see just how much of an impact the reunion had on them, as much as it did me," he said. He was moved to learn that for many of the first responders, he was the first patient in dozens of calls they were able to meet because of a successful outcome.

The care teams shared that deep sense of fulfillment. "We do see a lot of bad," Vollmer explained. "It is very meaningful... we come to work to see Craig celebrating his next birthday with his family”. Reflecting on the bystanders—Joyanne, Seguin, and the lady in the van who called 911—Officer Belding added, "Their courage saved that man's life”.

Today, a photo of the reunion group hangs on Craig's office wall. "I truly think of them every day," he said, noting he now lives with a "much wider view of purpose”.

The continuum of care: why Your hands matter

Craig’s survival was not the result of a single moment or a single team. It was the result of people choosing to act — and a continuum of care that never broke.

Officer (NEED FIRST NAME) Belding and the EMS teams were unequivocal when reflecting on what made the difference that day: Craig was alive when they arrived because Joyanne and Seguin stepped in immediately. Their willingness to act — and their confidence in their training — gave Craig a fighting chance long before sirens were ever heard.

"If Joyanne and Seguin) had not started CPR, the outcome would have been different,” Belding said.

That early action set everything else in motion. As EMS Supervisor Jason Vollmer said, “If Joyanne and the police officer had not started CPR… they’re giving us a chance to get in there… then we’re giving HCA HealthONE Swedish a chance to work their magic.”

Mary Morroni later described HCA HealthONE Swedish as a “community treasure,” not just for its technology, but for its people. From the moment Craig arrived in the ER — met by Julie Enriquez, Alice Lee, Samantha Goldman, Alexis Cox and Dr. Peter Bakes — the care felt intentional, coordinated and deeply human.

“It couldn’t have happened in a better place,” Mary said, reflecting on both the lifesaving care Craig received on the trail and the expert, compassionate response inside the emergency room.

 Neither Joyanne nor Seguin set out that day expecting to save a life. One was out for a bike ride. The other was finishing a long training run. What they shared was something simple, but powerful: CPR training and the willingness to act.

Craig’s story is a reminder that emergencies do not announce themselves. They happen in ordinary moments, in ordinary places — and in those moments, action matters.

By learning CPR and being prepared to step forward, any one of us can become the first link in the Chain of Survival. Because sometimes, that single decision is what gives an entire team — and a family — the chance to bring someone home.

Because you never know when you might save someone’s life.

Is your heart healthy?

Understanding your heart health is critical to getting the care you need. We offer a health risk assessment to help get you started.

Take our heart health risk assessment.

Heart care in Denver

Our cardiologists work to keep your heart strong so you can live life the way you want. HCA HealthONE has one of the largest, most comprehensive networks of cardiovascular services in the Denver area. These include specialized imaging, catheterization and surgery services as well as a holistic, low-risk chest pain program. Learn more and find a doctor.