Woman Follows Husband During His Daily Run, Her Reason Shocks Viewers

Newsweek ^ | Nov 07, 2025 | Lucy Notarantonio

[nickcarraway]

A woman has shared the heartbreaking reason why she would follow her husband on his daily run on Instagram.

Racking up over 1 million views, the clip shows Michael Daubert, 40, running along the sidewalk in a red top and blue shorts. The camera then cuts to his wife, Megan, 39, who is “chasing” him on a bike to make sure his defibrillator doesn’t go off.

The real estate agent told Newsweek that her husband suffered a sudden cardiac arrest on February 5, 2024, while playing in his men’s soccer league.

“He was without oxygen for 24 mins,” she said. “He was miraculously revived but not without consequence.”

Understanding Cardiac Arrest

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), each year in the United States, more than 356,000 individuals experience cardiac arrest outside a hospital setting.

A cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack—it occurs when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, causing blood flow to all parts of the body to cease.

For those who survive cardiac arrest, possible consequences include:

Brain injury

Damage to internal organs

Psychological effects such as anxiety, post-traumatic

stress disorder (PTSD), and depression

Megan Daubert has since launched her own podcast, @megandaubertpodcast, where she discusses their new reality.

She explained that a physiotherapist worked with him during his three-month hospital stay to build up his ability to run under supervision.

He wore a watch to monitor his heart rate and was instructed to continue using it during exercise at home. However, due to short-term memory loss, he was unable to consistently remember his limits and required frequent reminders.

With limited access to his usual routines, job, and responsibilities, exercise became one of the few activities that allowed him to feel a sense of independence.

[Dartoid]

I agree

[BFW]

I guess they never head of that newfangle invention called a tread mill?

[Secret Agent Man]

Sure. But definitely fear.

[Secret Agent Man]

Poor journalism as well.

If his heart stops, you WANT the defibrilator to “go off”. It shocks the heart back into rhythm.

[jimfr]

“That is their choice. It doesn’t affect any of us.” yes it does. It set expectations on others and what “should “ be the norm.
We all are going to die and trying to run from it is not healthy.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Of course there is fear.

Everyone who is in a happy marriage knows that the worst day of their life is coming and it will be agonizing.

It will be the day when you know your husband or wife is dying and there is nothing at all you can do about it. You may try but in the face of that final moment you are helpless.

She got hit with it earlier then most people do but we all eventually run into it.

In her case she is doing her best to try to postpone that day as much as she can. And so is he.

So.

Love.

Which casts out fear.

:)

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

We all are going to die and trying to run from it is not healthy.

We are all going to die. And so?

Let us have a blast while we last and make death fight for every last inch of us. It is called the indomitable human spirit.

[Secret Agent Man]

Well there isnt that much to fear in his case.

Hes got a defibrilator device in him. Its going to activate if he needs it. She cant really do anything one way or another.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

And since he got it she has been letting him run on his own.

Prior though, she could do CPR at the very least while the ambulance was coming.

[grame]

I think what many would call sacrifice I consider an act of love for my husband. When your love is unconditional and you want your spouse to thrive, it is love that gives him the freedom to enjoy the outdoors, the beauty of his surroundings, and quiet time where he can reflect in ways that can’t be enjoyed when someone else wants conversation. Especially after experiencing a near death experience. Wow 24 minutes is a long time!

[Secret Agent Man]

This is a terribly written article.

First she isnt letting him run on his own. She follows him on a bike.

Second the woman herself said she followed him to ensure his defibrilator doesnt go off. She cant stop that from happening, and if it goes off, he needs it to go off to restart his heart.

Then later downward, she says she started following him not because of the defibrilator but because he had some memory issues and maybe would run too much/long.

This story is all over the map.

[know.your.why]

It is his duty, as a husband, to adjust to his limitations to ensure his wife is not overly burdened.

“Once, an elderly general practitioner consulted me because of his severe depression. He could not overcome the loss of his wife who had died two years before and whom he had loved above all else. Now, how can I help him? What should I tell him? Well, I refrained from telling him anything but instead confronted him with the question, “What would have happened, Doctor, if you had died first, and your wife would have had to survive you?” “Oh,” he said, “for her this would have been terrible; how she would have suffered!” Whereupon I replied, “You see, Doctor, such a suffering has been spared her, and it was you who have spared her this suffering — to be sure, at the price that now you have to survive and mourn her.” He said no word but shook my hand and calmly left my office. In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” ― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

[sgt_lau]

* This story is all over the map.*

Maybe so, but doesn’t love often cause us to act in ways that others find irrational or nonsensical?

[normbal]

She also can use the exercise to get in shape herself for when hubby finally kacks and she can start the dating scene again.

Not a total waste of time.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

The story is very poorly written I agree. Probably by AI.

Any story that has "will shock" in the title is going to be poorly written. I have personally given up on expecting news stories to be written above a third grade level.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I am sure you have your Grinr profile already up and running.

[normbal]

spellcheck broken or relying on your public education victimhood?

That site is for your team.

[ladyjane]

“That is their choice. It doesn’t affect any of us.” yes it does. It set expectations on others and what “should “ be the norm.

What other people do in their marriage is *their* business. It certainly doesn't affect me. Why should I care what they do as long as it's not illegal? What my neighbors do doesn't set any expectations for me. Let all of them take their kids to weird story hours, I'm not going to do it.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Sorry that I apparently misspelled the name of your favorite website.

[FoxInSocks]

If his heart stops, you WANT the defibrilator to “go off”. It shocks the heart back into rhythm.

Technically, if your heart stops, someone should just perform CPR.

If your heart is in a shockable rhythm such as ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia, you can administer a defibrillation shock to stop the heart so that it can restart on its own. Ideally.