May 6, 2022, started like any other day for Eric Sirles. The Portsmouth resident had contracted COVID-19 for the third time, but this time felt different. When his youngest daughter insisted on an appointment with his primary care physician, neither could have imagined the journey ahead.
Eric was only in the office a brief time before he was sent via ambulance to Portsmouth Regional Hospital.
At the hospital, Eric’s condition deteriorated rapidly. The medical team made the critical decision to place him on ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a life-saving technology that takes over the work of the heart and lungs. It was a decision that would ultimately save his life, though the road ahead would be extraordinarily difficult.
“I credit Portsmouth (Regional Hospital) with saving my life, putting me on the path to living an extended life that I live today,” Eric says. “I’m grateful I was near a cardiac trauma hospital, because who knows how else this would have turned out.”
While on ECMO, Eric suffered serious strokes, a heart attack, and kidney failure. He slipped into a coma and was transferred to Boston for specialized care, where he remained until late June.
During this critical period, Eric’s daughters faced unimaginable decisions. His oldest daughter, Olivia, stationed in Miami with the Coast Guard, flew home to serve as his guardian alongside her younger sister, Alexandra. At one point, doctors gave Eric just a 20% chance of survival.
Fortunately, Eric had prepared his daughters for exactly this moment. Six months earlier, after visiting a friend in a coma, he had told them:
“If I’m ever in a coma, I want you to inquire about brain activity. If there’s no brain activity, you and your sister need closure, and you need to move on. But if I have brain activity, just know that I’m fighting with everything I have to get back to you.”
When the doctors asked about next steps, his daughters asked the critical question: Did he have brain activity? The answer was yes. With that answer, they made the decision to keep going, and a short time later Eric woke up.
When Eric first opened his eyes, he thought it was 1986. He could not walk. He could barely talk. He had lost more than 40 pounds of muscle mass and was on dialysis.
But Eric’s determination was fierce. Approximately a week later, he walked one loop around the unit with a walker. Each day, he pushed himself further. And when rehabilitation specialists came to evaluate him a short time later, he walked five laps without stopping.
In another miraculous turn, Eric’s kidneys began to restart, something that rarely happens. His youngest daughter had even been prepared to donate a kidney.
Eric’s recovery wasn’t just physical. Now 48 and living in Portsmouth, he describes the past few years as new way of life. “I changed everything. I changed all my habits, I changed the way I slept, I changed the way I ate. I was willing to do anything.”
During his recovery, Eric met Jack, a volunteer with Portsmouth Regional Hospital’s No One Dies Alone (NODA) program. Jack invited Eric to check out the program, and Eric was immediately drawn to it.
For the past two years, Eric has been volunteering with the NODA program, sitting with patients in their final moments so they do not have to face death alone. He also facilitates recovery meetings in the hospital’s Behavioral Health Unit.
“The whole reason I started doing NODA was to face my fear of that environment,” Eric explains. “And it was also to give back, because I was that person dying in the bed not too long ago.”
“When I met Eric, he immediately shared his story with me,” said Amy Lester, director of volunteer services at Portsmouth Regional Hospital. “He is truly grateful for the life-saving care that he received, and he wants to pay it forward. The No One Dies Alone program is not for everyone, it’s a tough assignment, these volunteers are with patients in their last moments, when they are at their most vulnerable. And Eric’s personal experience, along with his new view on life make him a tremendous asset to our program, and to our patients.”
Eric’s experiences as a NODA volunteer have been profound. His first patient, Johnny, was a heavy metal fan on comfort measures. Eric played his favorite music and spent time simply being present.
Eric has also sat with patients who are non-communicative, simply providing a presence in the room.
“I don’t know if just anybody is willing to go sit in a room with someone in their final moments,” he reflects, “but I know that the group of volunteers that I do this with are pretty amazing.”
Today, Eric has made a complete physical recovery. The greatest change, however, has been internal. “I realize in reflection that I wasn’t always present in life with my family, friends, coworkers, and children. Today, I do the very best I can to be present in almost every moment I’m in.”
He also volunteers extensively outside the hospital, working with the homeless community and supporting a Marine regiment as chaplain, among other charitable efforts.
“It’s just a different way of life,” he says simply. “The last three years and eight months have been all borrowed time,” he says. “I’m truly grateful for every minute of it, whether it’s good or indifferent. It is only by the grace of God that I walk this earth today.”
When asked about his remarkable journey, Eric’s message is clear:
“I’m truly grateful to Portsmouth for saving my life. I know that there is no accident that I’m still here.”
About No One Dies Alone (NODA)
Portsmouth Regional Hospital’s No One Dies Alone program provides compassionate volunteers to sit with patients in their final hours, ensuring no one faces death in solitude. Volunteers receive training and support to provide comfort, companionship, and dignity to patients during life’s most vulnerable moments.
For more information about the NODA program or to learn about volunteering opportunities, please email Amy Lester, director of volunteer services.