Cardiology: Darryl McGinnes

Bronson resident Darryl McGinnes, encouraged by his wife Tammy, took up running to improve his health. Ironically, he nearly died while competing in a 5K race in Ocala in May 2025.

"As I got closer to the finish line, I had an out of body experience, felt a weird sensation in my head and I collapsed," he recalls.

Darryl had gone into cardiac arrest while running. For several minutes, as Darryl was unconscious, roughly a dozen bystanders took turns furiously administering CPR, which kept Darryl alive until he arrived at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital, where he underwent an emergency quadruple bypass.

Among those who performed CPR on Darryl at the race was Tiffiny Wildman, clinical nurse coordinator for outpatient services at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. Once Darryl got to the hospital's emergency room, Dr. Bryan Bush, a cardiothoracic surgeon, performed the emergency bypass that restored the function of Darryl's heart.

Darryl recovered and says he expects to resume running in the near future. 

"Everything that day was a miracle," Darryl says. "Everybody that stepped in knew exactly what to do and performed everything exactly they way they needed to do it. It was amazing."

"From the time that I collapsed, all the way through all of my care through the hospital, I couldn't have asked for better care," Darryl says.

Learn to become a lifesaver by attending a CPR class. You can watch Darryl's story below.