Hi Everyone,
I (Sierra, Nils’ wife) never imagined I’d be writing this, but I’m reaching out for help during one of the most difficult times in our lives. My husband, Nils, is only 25 years old and has always been active, passionate about soccer, and full of life. But on March 19th, everything changed.
During a soccer game, Nils suddenly collapsed on the field. His heart had gone into cardiac arrest. Thanks to quick action from his coach, an opponent who happened to be a Doctor, and emergency responders, he was resuscitated and rushed to the hospital. After a few days, and countless tests, we received a diagnosis. Nils has Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), a rare genetic heart condition that can cause life-threatening arrhythmias.
(The full story will be below at the end of this if you wish to read it)
To protect his heart and give him the best chance at a full life, doctors performed surgery to implant a defibrillator in his side. This device will monitor his heart and deliver a life-saving shock if his heart stops again. While we are beyond grateful that he is still with us, our journey is far from over.
Every Doctor Nils spoke with unanimously agreed and said that if things didn't happen EXACTLY how they happened, that Nils would no longer be with us.
Between emergency medical care, surgery, hospital stays, follow-up appointments, and long-term treatment, the medical bills are already overwhelming. On top of that, both Nils and I are taking steps away from our careers for a short time to process during his recovery, adding financial strain to an already stressful situation.
We are humbly asking for any support you can give... Whether it’s a donation, prayer, or simply sharing this page. Every dollar will go toward medical expenses, follow-up care, and easing the burden on our family as we navigate this unexpected chapter.
We have faith in God throughout all of this; as we know he worked miraculously in saving Nils life that day. Your kindness, generosity, and prayers mean the world to us. Thank you for being part of our support system. We couldn’t do this without you.
With love and gratitude,
Sierra & Nils Gulbranson
If you want to donate, share, or pray, please consider doing so with the following link:
- The full story -
Last Wednesday, at the age of 25, I (Nils) collapsed on the soccer field and went into cardiac arrest. I want to share exactly what happened, what the doctors say caused it, and how it will affect the rest of my life.
Ten minutes into the second half of the game, I suddenly collapsed and began having a seizure--arms and legs flailing, eyes going, as my coach Todd Sauers described, “kooky.” The first man to reach me thought I had swallowed my tongue perhaps, so he rolled me onto my side. It was after that when everything went from bad to worse (or worst). My heart stopped. I had no pulse. I wasn’t breathing. My face and lips began turning black and blue.
Then, by the grace of God, someone from the opposing team ran over and said something akin to, “I’m a doctor—let me take care of this.” He started performing CPR, joined by one of his teammates. Eventually, some color returned to my face, and a faint pulse was detected. But then everything stopped again. My heart, my breathing, my pulse, gone again.
By that point, someone had run to grab the AED. They placed the pads on me and shocked me back to life. A few minutes later, the ambulance arrived, and I regained consciousness on the way to the hospital, with no memory of anything that had happened. (This story was from eye-witnesses that visited me in the hospital)
When I arrived at the emergency room, there were 10+ doctors waiting for me. I spent the first night there hoping for answers, but none came. They tried an ultrasound, but no one could identify the cause. A day passed. The next day, they performed an MRI and a CT scan and now, the third day, just 40 or so minutes after returning to my room from the MRI, a doctor walked in and said, “We know what the problem is. You can get surgery in 30 minutes.”
It turns out I have a heart condition called ARVC—Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy. Essentially, the left side of my heart is functioning fine, but a portion of the right side has turned into scar tissue, rather than remaining flexible muscle. This was likely caused by years of playing high-endurance sports like soccer for the last 20 of my 25 years of being alive!
I underwent surgery and now have a small internal defibrillator implanted just below my armpit. It monitors my heart 24/7, ready to shock me if anything like this ever happens again. Every doctor I’ve seen has told me that if even one thing had gone differently that night, I wouldn’t be alive. Many people with this disease die before anyone even sees them go down.
The weight of all this still hasn’t fully hit me. My athletic career, according to the doctors, is essentially over pretty much. No more activities that push my heart to those levels. However, as the doctor explained it, he also added, “You only get one life… so…” I am hoping that I can regain the ability and confidence to get back out there and do the things I love.
There are two possibilities now—either the condition remains stable and doesn’t cause further complications, or it worsens, and in 20–40 years, I’ll need a heart transplant, which, if successful, could give me a 90% chance to another decade or more of life.
Whatever the future holds, I believe God used that man on the field that night to save me. I’ll be meeting him in the next few weeks. Please keep praying. Not just for me, but especially for my wife, who’s been anxious, and for my dad and brother, who were there and saw the whole thing unfold. I can’t imagine what that was like for them.
Your support in this time of need will not be forgotten. And if you know me, you know I do not like asking for anything. But in the current circumstances, I don't feel like I have a choice.
On top of this event, I recently had Orthoscopic surgery for my left rotator cuff and just got to the 5-month recovery for that when this happened, as well as my wife and I both being laid off from our jobs recently.
So, as you can imagine, things are a little hectic around here.
But one thing has remained steadfast - that the God we serve is never changing. He will not leave us, nor forsake us. And the suffering we endure now will not be compared to the Glory that will be revealed to us. Romans 8:18
Thank you.
Even if you can’t give, please consider sharing this with someone who might. That alone could change our lives.
-Nils