When Indianapolis television anchor Scott Swan arrived at the operating room with a burst artery and blood pressure plummeting to critical levels, his vascular surgeon gave him only a 20-30% chance of survival. Yet what medical staff witnessed in that operating room defied their expectations and left them without a scientific explanation.
Scott Swan, who anchored newscasts at WTHR in Indianapolis, had been pushing through severe abdominal discomfort for several days before April 26, 2017, when his condition became life-threatening. Despite the worsening symptoms, he continued to deliver his midday broadcasts, masking the escalating pain from viewers and colleagues alike.
Emergency unfolds as symptoms intensify
“I went into the bathroom and felt very clammy. I felt light-headed. I just felt this enormous pain down in my stomach,” Scott recalled. “And just knew that this was getting worse. Progressively worse.”
With his wife Janae’ traveling for business in Mexico, Scott reached out to her via text about his deteriorating condition. Her urgent response in capital letters urged him to seek immediate medical attention, though he postponed visiting the emergency room until after completing his work shift—a delay that nearly proved fatal.
Critical diagnosis reveals internal bleeding
Medical personnel at the emergency room near his residence discovered his blood pressure had dropped to dangerously low levels. A CAT scan revealed internal bleeding in his abdomen, prompting an urgent call to vascular surgeon Dr. Randy Irwin even before Scott had emerged from the imaging equipment.
“He was barely hanging on to consciousness. We knew he was bleeding to death, but we didn’t know why,” Dr. Irwin said.
Weather conditions complicated the emergency response when a storm prevented helicopter transport to a better-equipped facility. As Scott traveled by ambulance instead, his blood pressure crashed to 50/30, with Dr. Irwin estimating a 70-80% probability he would die during the transfer.
Distance and prayer
Stranded in Mexico with limited cell service, Janae’ struggled to obtain information about her husband’s rapidly deteriorating condition. She knew only that he had visited the emergency room and was being transferred between hospitals.
“I had no idea, really the severity of what was going on,” she said. “I was stuck. I couldn’t leave. All I just want to do was sit and pray. I guess distraught is the only word I can think of.”
An unexpected calm amid crisis
While medical professionals fought to preserve his life and his wife prayed from another country, Scott experienced something unexpected during the ambulance transport.
“I don’t remember feeling the pain at that point,” he said. “I sensed that God was with me. And while I couldn’t speak and I couldn’t open my eyes, I felt God’s peace in the back of that ambulance.”
Unexplained turnaround
Upon arrival at St. Vincent’s, Dr. Irwin immediately wheeled Scott into surgery. Using a catheter to locate the source of hemorrhaging, the surgeon made an unexpected discovery.
“It looked like Scott had stopped bleeding. It stopped on its own,” Dr. Irwin said. “But we could clearly see some arteries inside there that were not normal. And then after that we kind of stopped everything.”
The emergency surgery became unnecessary. The following day, Dr. Irwin placed a coil in the affected artery as a preventive measure and transferred Scott to intensive care.
Diagnosis and disappearance
Following a 12-day hospital stay, doctors identified Scott’s condition as polyarteritis nodosum, an uncommon autoimmune condition where the body mistakenly attacks its own arteries. While medication could manage the disease, subsequent medical scans revealed another surprise—the condition had completely vanished.
Dr. Irwin was candid about the situation: “I think there’s no doubt that if Scott didn’t stop bleeding on his own, that he probably would have died before he got down here to see me.”
Scott attributes his recovery to divine intervention. “To me, there is no good medical explanation to why that artery sealed, and why I stopped bleeding. As a Christ-follower, I believe God healed me.”
Living testimony
The experience transformed Scott’s understanding of scripture. “God IS my healer. God IS my Savior. He IS my God of miracles. I want people to know that whatever you’re going through in life, that God is with you,” he said.
Janae’ believes their ordeal serves a greater purpose. “I know that the Lord takes something and just makes it better, and that’s what He’s done with this situation, by creating a miracle, saving him, and now for him to have a platform like this to go and spread the good news, and to encourage others.”
On the anniversary of his near-death experience this past April 26, Scott reflected on his miraculous recovery and shared an encouraging message with his followers.
Every miracle in the Bible is true. God is still at work. Every time I give my testimony people share their own miracle stories with me.Friend, there is nothing impossible with God.“Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(Matthew 19:26 NIV)He will always be the God of miracles!“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”(Hebrews 13:8 NIV)God is still in the miracle business!
WATCH: TV News Anchor Nearly Dies After Burst Artery, Says God Healed Him
