SARASOTA, Fla. — A Sarasota dad was dancing with his daughter during their surprise father-daughter dance at her wedding when he collapsed.
Everything was going as planned at Emily Alvarez's wedding in March.
She and her husband, Jason, had their wedding ceremony followed by the reception with multiple dances, which all went smoothly, until the second half of the father-daughter dance.
They started with a slow dance and transitioned to an upbeat, surprise song to choreographed to Taylor Swift's "You Need to Calm Down."
Alvarzez and her father, Brad Carver, practiced the dance for a month and a half, but about a minute into the dance, Carver felt dizzy.
"I practiced so many times and never felt dizzy, never felt ill. I thought to myself 'I'm feeling dizzy,' and that's the last thing I remember," he said.
He collapsed and went into cardiac arrest. Luckily, the wedding photographer, family members and other wedding guests were able to administer an AED and perform CPR until paramedics arrived. He was transported to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he got a triple bypass.
"Unfortunately it happened on my wedding day, but fortunately it happened on my wedding day because everyone lined up perfectly to save his life," Alvarez said.
"It could've easily been the worst day of all of our lives," Alvarez added.
Dr. Jeffrey Sell, who performed the surgery, said it's important for people to get trained in CPR and learn how to use an AED so that if this happens, they can jump into action and possibly save someone's life.
"I died, came back to life, and it's given me a different perspective on life," Carver said.
Alvarez's advice this Father's Day is simple: "Just hug your dad or just say 'I love you' or just be grateful they are still here with us."
"Cherish every moment you have with them because that counts and that matters," she said.