Both Gary and his wife, Stacey Anthon, were in town this month visiting friends in Grapevine and wanted to thank the emergency responders at DFW Station 5 before taking a flight back home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He bought them all lunch \u2014 tacos, chips and iced tea \u2014 and gave them a photo album of things he\u2019s been able to do since his heart was jump-started at the airport.<\/p>\n
See his son get married.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Meet two new grandchildren.<\/p>\n
![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1208-DFWSurvivorUpdate-01-1-1-1024x683.jpg\")
Gary Anthon flips through a photo book on Dec. 8, 2025. Anthon created a book filled with memories he was able to create thanks to having his life saved by the DFW Airport EMS team. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what it meant to have these guys save me and be able to experience the rest of my life,\u201d Anthon said. \u201cThe things I would have missed just last year were incredible, and now I get to move on with my life and think about just how much of a gift every day is.\u201d<\/p>\n
That recent Monday morning was not the first time he met the EMS crew. He greeted them at the hospital the day of his resuscitation.<\/p>\n
And although his efforts remain focused on finding his two initial saviors, Anthon said seeing the EMS team again was on his bucket list. They were extremely important to his survival, he notes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still in rough shape when the paramedics got here,\u201d Gary Anthon said. \u201cThey had to shock me again and the heartbeat was bad, and they had to do a lot of life-saving measures to keep me alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"(Ismael](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1208-DFWSurvivorUpdate-08--1024x683.jpg\")
Gary Anthon signs a cardiac arrest survivors plaque on seat 14C in DFW Airport on Dec. 8, 2025. (Ismael M. Belkoura | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
During his recent visit, the Salt Lake City resident signed a poster of a plane commemorating those who have survived a cardiac arrest event at the airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The DFW Airport Department of Public Safety Headquarters started placing names on its cardiac arrest survivors board in 2022. The program was started by Hilton Head Battalion Chief Tom Bouthillet, who looked to fill the symbolic plane on the poster with the names of cardiac arrest survivors by 2032.<\/p>\n
Bouthillet co-founded Six Minutes to Live, an organization whose mission is to prevent cardiac arrest deaths. The nonprofit worked with Anthon to try and find the men who administered CPR in those first crucial moments.<\/p>\n
Anthon is one of the few cardiac arrest survivors to sign the board in person, as many who pass through DFW Airport don\u2019t live in North Texas.<\/p>\n
So far, the airport\u2019s efforts have saved enough travelers to fill nearly a third of the 150 seats on the plane.<\/p>\n
![\"(Maria](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1208-DFWSurvivorUpdate-06-1-1-1024x683.jpg\")
In January 2024, Gary Anthon\u2019s heart stopped at DFW Airport. On Dec. 8, 2025, he was able to thank the EMS personnel who helped save his life. (Maria Crane | Fort Worth Report\/CatchLight Local\/Report for America)<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Anthon\u2019s search for his unknown saviors continues. If you have information concerning the bystanders who helped him, contact Six Minutes to Live here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ismael M. Belkoura is the health reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n