Caddy who collapsed during AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am makes incredible recovery at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula - CPR and transportation to Community Hospital saved the caddy’s life
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Contact: Monica Sciuto (831) 622-2756
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MONTEREY, CA. — Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula announced the incredible recovery of Leo Lukenas, the Monterey, Ca-based caddy who collapsed on the 11th fairway at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and suffered a 30-minute cardiac arrest.
Lukenas, caddy for amateur Geoff Couch, collapsed during the second round of the event on February 3, 2023 when Sgt. Kelly Bunn of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department immediately began performing CPR until paramedics arrived and transported Lukenas to Community Hospital.
While being treated in the hospital’s ICU, Lukenas was diagnosed with severe multivessel coronary artery disease and received quadruple bypass surgery. Lukenas recovered well from surgery and is continuing with therapy in good spirits.
“Leo is very lucky to be here today, and that is in large part due to the actions of Sgt. Bunn and his timely transportation to the hospital. Surviving cardiac arrest is rare, and Leo’s high spirits and fast recovery make his case even more of an outlier,” said Dr. Gregory Spowart, Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeon with Montage Medical Group.
Sgt. Bunn’s actions, in addition to a swift response from paramedics and lifesaving care at Community Hospital, gave Lukenas a second chance at life.
“It seems like it was a bad thing that happened to me — it wasn't," Lukenas said. "It was a blessing in disguise ... because I had a problem with my heart, and something was going to go wrong sooner or later."
At a Montage Health press conference, Lukenas had the opportunity to thank and embrace Bunn, along with the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who played a role in saving his life.
"The moment I will be most proud of is this moment, watching Leo not be in a hospital bed, being able to walk, talk and move around. There's a lot of emotions right now, but it's just a very proud moment for me to be sitting next to him in the company of all the people that helped him get to this point," Bunn said at the press conference.
Lukenas and his family generously provided funding to Montage Health Foundation for an AED to be utilized by First Tee, a local non-profit organization that focuses on golf and building character for youngsters.
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ABOUT COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, established in 1934, has grown and evolved in direct response to the changing healthcare needs of the people it serves. Its parent company is Montage Health, the umbrella for entities that work together to deliver exceptional care and inspire the pursuit of optimal health. Community Hospital is a nonprofit healthcare provider with 220 staffed acute-care hospital beds and 28 skilled-nursing beds, delivering a continuum of care from birth to end of life, and every stage in between. It serves the Monterey Peninsula and surrounding communities through locations including the main hospital, outpatient facilities, satellite laboratories, a mental health clinic, a short-term skilled nursing facility (Westland House), Hospice of the Central Coast, Montage Wellness Centers, and business offices. Find more information about Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula at chomp.org.
