Another great SCA Survival Story

This is a very short post, but I came across this story today and thought it was worth sharing. While these types of stories aren't uncommon, I guess I appreciated the simple advice of getting CPR training. Obviously, it was awesome to hear about the successful outcome. I haven't had to go through… Read More

SCA Survivor

A week before Christmas in 2017 I developed extreme chest pain. I took an aspirin, a zantac in case it was indigestion and a package of alka selzer. I lost my husband two months ago and had he been there I would have sent him to the store for GasX. I was reluctant to call an ambulance because that… Read More

I need to purchase AED for home use ...Help please

I am a wife to my wonderful husband, a 78-year-old at an increased risk of SCA. He suffered a heart attack 35 years ago left him with stable but low 32% efficiency. He lately developed VT, only one occurrence 29 seconds long. His cardiologist recommended an implant defibrillator ICD but he is… Read More

Best first response: Putting the pieces together

A couple of heart-related local news stories came up the other day and I was struck again by the importance of AED’s and the factors that come into play in determining whether or not an SCA crisis has the best possible outcome. Usually it seems that most of life “out there in the big world” is… Read More

Personal Experience

I am a CA survivor! I was de-fibbed at the side of the road after a car crash by EMT's and air-lifted to a major hospital about 40 miles from the accident scene. Eight months later at age 68 I have, Thanks be to God, fully recovered. After three months I returned to my job wherein I work about… Read More

How many households where both adults can perform a 2" chest compression on their spouse?

In the USA there are about 1,000 cardiac arrests each day. About 70% occur in a private residence. Two-thirds of the victims are male. In a sample of 50 couples, the result was the same as the prior examination with 30 couples: the percentage of households where each adult could perform a single… Read More

Should a lay bystander use CPR/AED?

I have been wondering lately about my legal liability when it comes to using CPR/AED. My career training included the requirement to become certified in First Aid and CPR, along with using an AED. So since I was trained it was assumed that I would start a rescue should an emergency arise in my… Read More

One year SCA Survivor

August 20, 2017 marked the first anniversary of my rebirth! It was exactly a year ago to that date that a SCA changed my life forever. That Friday was a particularly normal Friday, like most Fridays in my life. I had gone to work all day, went out to eat dinner with some friends, and then went… Read More

Thinking about it—where’s an AED when you need one?

After suggesting in a recent post that being proactive is the way to go when it comes to locating an AED when you need one, I decided to start asking whenever I am in a public place if there is actually an AED present. This started in my local library, and I found that there was none in place here… Read More

Are you ready to save a life?

I'm new to the community, but wanted to share a short post/story I wrote designed to help people connect with the reality of saving a life in an SCA emergency. Thanks for the opportunity! You’re somewhere, anywhere. In an elevator, on the sidewalk, at a sports event when the unthinkable happens--… Read More