Eight months after his heart stopped twice during massive coronary, former KODE anchor Hanrahan announces retirement

 

Eight months after suffering a massive coronary, former KODE anchor Robb Hanrahan, the anchor at CBS 21 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, announced his retirement Sunday night.

“I have been through an extraordinary and life changing experience. It has truly opened my eyes as to what is most important to me,” Robb said. “Although TV news has always been, and will always be, a part of who I am, I know this is the right time to step back. I will miss all my friends and co-workers at CBS 21 and I remind them that I am not going anywhere. I still live in the market, my wife, Stacey, is still doing the weather and CBS 21 will always be my station.”

Hanrahan, 59, began his 38-year broadcasting career at KODE in the 1980s and later worked at WFOR in Miami, Florida, and spent seven years at WABC in New York where he was an evening anchor for several years.

Hanrahan's retirement announcement came one day after he shared the story of his heart attack with his viewers:

Robb: They were doing compressions on me when the doctor got to my bedside. They had the paddles ready. And as soon as they could they shocked me.

Stacey: And she says, you know I'm really sorry to tell you, but we believe your husband's having a heart attack. His heart has stopped twice.

Robb:I got to this, this point where the whatever was happening and shutting down went through this area of my body and the pain stopped, and all of a sudden everything got peaceful.

And I knew that I was dead.

I was curled up in a place that was dark and quiet, calm. But, boy, it was a place I've never been, and it gives me great hope because there's something else there.

That was my last real memory, other than I was back.

(Photo from Stacey Hanrahan's Facebook page shows Robb Hanrahan in his days at KODE.)