FEATURE: Former Bulldog Equipment Manager Survives Summer Heart Attack Thanks To Life-Saving Efforts

Pictured Is Former Ferris State Equipment Manager Ben Mumah

Special Feature To FSU
By Cora Hall

Big Rapids, Mich. - Former Ferris State University Athletics Equipment Manager Ben Mumah headed to Clear Lake Golf Club near Big Rapids earlier this summer on June 9 at 5 p.m., just like he had done many other Monday nights for the last 25 years or so. He was off to meet a group of friends and past colleagues that included several current or former Ferris State Athletics staff members and alumni who live in the area for a casual night of golf.

What he didn't know was that his night would end in an ambulance headed to Grand Rapids.

Mumah suffered a heart attack on the 16th hole, the furthest from the club house, and had CPR performed on him for roughly 12 minutes until paramedics arrived with an AED. Fortunately, he was playing in a group with Ferris State hockey head coach Bob Daniels and Ferris State men's basketball head coach Andy Bronkema, both of whom are required by the NCAA to be CPR-certified.

They both rushed immediately to his aid. After both took a few turns for several minutes doing chest compressions, Ferris State hockey alum Joe Van Culin then carried the load for the last eight minutes until the ambulance arrived. Paramedics were able to resuscitate Mumah after administering the AED a couple times and he's now expected to make a full recovery.

The other golfers in the evening group that also helped rush to his aid included former Ferris State Associate Athletic Director & current GVSU professor Jon Coles along with current Ferris State Assistant Athletic Director and radio voice Rob Bentley, former Ferris State and now Arizona State University Athletics Advancement Officer Will Goode in addition to Big Rapids native and current Tampa Bay Lightning Video Coordinator Brian Garlock, Mumah's nephew Brian Bongard, Ferris State women's soccer head coach Greg Henson and Scott LaCourse, a Big Rapids resident and longtime FSU fan and supporter. All were part of the three groups of golfers on the course that particular night.

"It couldn't have worked out any better than it did," Mumah said. "I mean, Bob was probably 10-feet from me when I went down. Andy was across the fairway and they just did what they did. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here.

"The first doctor I talked to, he held up one finger and said 'You're one percent.' And I said 'What do you mean?' and he said 'For the length of time that you had CPR done to you, one percent of people get back to their normal selves. Usually they have some kind of brain damage or they just don't make it.' When you hear something like that, it just boggles your mind a little bit," he added.

After spending time recovering the past couple of months, Mumah said he's feeling fine and his ribs have healed from the CPR. He takes more walks now and is much more conscious of his health, mainly for his family's sake.

"I've had people say 'God must have had another reason for you to be around,'" Mumah said. "It really does make you think about a lot of things. Trying to take of yourself a little better, pay attention to what you eat a little better, all those things like that so you don't go through that again or put your family through that again."

Mumah was the equipment manager at Ferris State University for 33 years and is the kind of guy who's friends with everyone he meets, according to Daniels and Van Culin.

"Benny did a lot of great things for me," Van Culin said. "He did a lot of great things for everyone. Ben is just a heck of a guy. He still sharpens my skates, he sharpens my kids' skates. Everybody knows Benny."

The golf league has been an easy way for Mumah to stay connected with the athletics staff, especially since he retired in 2016. It's not a serious golf league, by any means, and players come and join as often as they can with their busy schedules, typically walking the nine holes. On June 9, there were 11 players, a larger group than usual, and each person played a part from calling 911 to cheering for Mumah in addition to those performing CPR and praying around them, according to Daniels. Others called his wife, Jan, and managed to contact the clubhouse who directed emergency personnel to the appropriate location at the back of the course.

Van Culin had never played in the long-standing golf league before that night. He only played that evening because he was invited by a friend at work earlier in the day and just managed to make it to the 5 o'clock tee off.

He said he felt a presence with him and described the atmosphere like he was back on the ice in front of a home crowd with everyone cheering for both him and Mumah. Daniels likened it to a weight room, with everyone yelling and cheering similar to when an athlete is lifting a heavy weight.

"I think everybody sitting there cheering just really gave me the energy," Van Culin said. "I knew I wasn't going to let Benny go. I knew I was going to do everything I could and I just never lost faith in that. Everyone was praying around us and I just felt like I was giving him everything I had and I didn't feel exhausted or anything until really it was done."

When someone isn't breathing, 12 minutes feels like 12 hours. For Daniels, watching his close friend lying motionless on the ground, it was a bit freaky.

"I was really worried," Daniels said. "At first, I was like 'I don't think he's going to make it.' And it was devastating, just, devastating. But when we heard they were going to transport him to Grand Rapids, we knew that, God, he's going to make it. I have to say, in all my years in athletics, there was never more elation then when we found out he was OK."

Mumah, being the humble man he is, couldn't believe how many people were involved in saving his life.

"I was amazed at how many people were on that list, it was about 20 people in all and I was just shocked," Mumah said. "That didn't include the ambulance drivers or the people at the emergency room, the nurses and techs at the hospital. It's like, holy crap. All those people just to take care of me. It was something."