Well that's a terrible way to get it, that sounds like a pretty awesome mental picture to have.

Nearly the same except it was my oldest sister who was rescuing me... Right up until my panicking caused me to start choking her out, thus causing some random dude to help save both of us.

Also, my dad watched as I thought I was gonna drown in my neighborhood pool after my overconfident 6 year old ass jumped into the deep end. While he was probably slightly drunk, not much he could've done given he was disabled. When I climbed out of the pool, he just looked at me, smirked, and said "Bet you're not gonna try that again, huh?"

ETA: Should've pointed out, the reason he was smirking is because he realized I (probably) be all right for the same reason I figured out a couple weeks later: I was over 4' tall while the pool was only 5' deep, so I could stand flat footed in the deep end and have most my forearm above water. Dad saw in my panic was bouncing to safety.

The wiki article doesn't explain, but the article it references does:

“What happened,” says Priscilla Oppenheimer, the Padres’ director of minor-league operations, “is that he had a virus around his heart. He’d just undergone a physical, too, but something like that can only be picked up on an ecocardiogram.”

I'm NAL, but with the presence of the virus, I'd think both workplace insurance and workers' comp would've been very combative over the claim, especially since it happened while he was only warming up which is far less stressful than actual gameplay. His family could (and maybe did) fight and so they are possibly getting some additional income from it, but I'm not sure how well the protections and such were almost 30 years ago.

Also, on top of the Padres still employing him, they apparently released him from having to repeat the bonus he got for the contract he couldn't fulfill, so that's pretty decent too.

On the brighter flipside, is disabled pitcher Matt LaChappa:

In 1996, while warming up in the bullpen to enter what would have been the first game of his season as a relief pitcher, LaChappa collapsed and suffered a heart attack. The Quakes athletic trainer performed CPR on LaChappa for 20 minutes until he was taken to a local hospital. At the hospital, he suffered a second heart attack. LaChappa survived, but suffered brain damage from the lack of oxygen and is mostly confined to a wheelchair and has difficulty moving and speaking. Since the incident, the Padres organization has signed him yearly to a basic Minor League contract so that he can maintain his health insurance.

Known.

Some.

Call.

Air.

Is.

Am.