At the age of 51, Richard Belanger was ready to fulfill a lifelong dream and become a law enforcement officer. Everything was falling into place for this former Marine, but during the physical endurance test, he had a massive heart attack. That first heart attack was quickly followed by two others. For more than 20 minutes, Richard was dead — he had no pulse and was not breathing.

Thanks to the heroics of the emergency responders and the cardiac team at Florida Hospital, today, Richard is miraculously on his way to a full recovery. He takes us back to the day that nearly ended his life and reveals how it forever changed the way he looks at the most precious gift any of us will ever receive: life itself.

This story was featured in an episode of the Emmy-nominated show Surviving & Thriving. Special thanks to our partners at Florida Hospital for their sponsorship and support of this Surviving & Thriving segment. Click here to watch the entire episode it was featured in.