On August 11th, the world got turned upside down for my brother and his family. Bryce, whose just 29 years old, suffered a massive heart attack. He was found to have 100% blockage in his right coronary artery. After a morning of working out in the field, he came home with severe chest pain that was radiating down both of his arms, up his neck, and into his back. He was rushed to the ER in Lewistown, where he was then life-flighted to Billings. A cath procedure was performed to place 2 stents in his artery to restore blood flow to his heart. The procedure was successful, and for the next two weeks recovery was going great. He began cardiac rehab a few short days after being discharged home with a big goal in mind. He drew a once-in-a-lifetime Montana Moose tag, so preparations began to get back in shape for the hunt this coming September. Spirits were high and he was feeling good.

Around 2 weeks after his heart attack on Thursday August 28th, he got up early to get ready for his first follow up appointment with cardiology. While in the shower that morning he passed out and was brought back to the Lewistown ER. After imaging was done to make sure there was no clots or bleeds that would’ve either caused the fall or resulted from the fall he was shipped via ambulance to Billings again. They were worried that the electrical side of his heart was malfunctioning due to damage from the heart attack from 2 weeks prior.

Bryce was brought back to the cath lab to run tests to see if his heart could go into an abnormal rhythm. During the tests, it was found his heart went into V-Tach. This abnormal heart rhythm can be fatal if not treated. Therefore the decision to place a defibrillator inside his chest was made.

The doctors still have no answers as to why the heart attack occurred, and major testing and research will take place to try and find the answers.

All that we know for certain is that Bryce is a loving Father and Husband, he’s a hard worker, and is dedicated to any task he puts his mind to! One of their biggest goals is to reach out and help people understand and know that this can happen to anyone. If you know Bryce you know he is in his prime. He hikes all year long and is active throughout every season. There was no indication to get a full work up or to be on the lookout for anything like this. A lot of guidelines say to wait until you are a certain age, weight, or have certain risk factors, but this can be anyone at any time. The family wants to help anyone who’s been through this and to reach as many people as possible to help prevent this from happening to others if it’s potentially preventable.

The funds raised will be used to help the family with all the medical bills they have so far and for the several appointments to come. Bryce plans to take steps into further extensive testing and genetic research that will have additional costs associated with in hopes to find answers and to help educate others in this rare and unexpected situation.

Life throws unexpected curveballs and this is a stark reminder to never take a single day for granted.

Thank you for donating to the cause and sharing his story in hopes to spread heart health awareness and find some answers.