Routine run leads to life-saving heart diagnosis for Warren County school resource officer

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.  – What began as a routine afternoon run nearly turned deadly for a Warren County school resource officer, but quick action by emergency room staff led to a diagnosis that doctors say likely saved his life.

Norman Simpson said he had spent the morning working security at church before heading out for what was supposed to be a four-mile run. After returning toward home, he began experiencing severe back pain, dizziness and numbness in his hands.

“I thought maybe I had lost that much stamina,” Simpson said. “You don’t think it’ll ever happen to you.”

After searching his symptoms online, Simpson and his wife, Kaitlyn, decided to go to TriStar Greenview Regional Hospital’s Lovers Lane Emergency Room. As he reached the entrance, he collapsed.

“When I got to the doors, I passed out,” Simpson recalled. “I woke up on the exam table.”

Doctors determined Simpson’s heart had entered a dangerous rhythm known as ventricular tachycardia. He was shocked twice and received CPR after going into cardiac arrest.

“Apparently, I was in cardiac arrest. No heartbeat, no pulse,” Simpson said.

After being transferred to TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center and later TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, specialists diagnosed Simpson with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, a congenital condition caused by an extra electrical pathway in the heart. Doctors performed two catheter ablations to eliminate the abnormal pathway.

Simpson said he had exercised throughout much of his adult life and had no idea he was living with the condition.

“It definitely surprised me,” he said. “I’m 47, and I figured out I got something that could kill me.”

Kaitlyn Simpson said the emergency department staff moved immediately after her husband collapsed.

“It was like watching a coordinated dance,” she said. “Everybody had their role. Everybody was moving quickly.”

She said the professionalism of the doctors, nurses and staff helped keep her calm during one of the most frightening moments of her life.

“I couldn’t even be nervous because everybody was such an expert at what they were doing,” she said.

Following the diagnosis and successful procedure, Simpson spent nearly a week in the hospital before returning home. He has since returned to work as a school resource officer and resumed running, logging more than 60 miles in recent months.

The experience, he said, has changed his outlook on life.

“Definitely slow down and enjoy the small things in life,” Simpson said. “Just being home with them and spending time with them.”

For Kaitlyn, the impact extends far beyond one patient.

“They didn’t just save a guy’s life,” she said. “They gave three kids their dad. The community has a school resource officer back, the baseball team has their coach. The impact of what they did reaches out more than I think we all think about.”

Simpson hopes others take his story as a reminder not to ignore warning signs and to prioritize regular medical checkups.

“I’d definitely tell people to get checked out,” he said. “And watch your caffeine intake. I don’t think it caused my heart issue, but it definitely didn’t help.”