FORT WAYNE, Ind.--Some good samaritans and a small medical device are getting credit for saving the life of a pregnant Fort Wayne mother.While jogging on a treadmill last Tuesday, Lisa Wood's heart suddenly stopped. She says she never felt pain, but noticed a faster heart rate before going unconscious.
YMCA employee Ryan Quandt was on duty when he heard the YMCA alarm. He immediately left his station and quickly grabbed an Automated External Defibrillator or AED. The device sends an electrical shock to the heart to get it beating again. Within minutes, Quandt and an off duty Fort Wayne firefighter were able to bring Wood back.
"I was just thinking about what I had to do. And hoping I didn't mess it up," Quandt remembered.
The small machine not only saved Wood, but her baby too. She is nearly five months pregnant.
"Thank you is so inadequate to say to somebody who saves your life, but what else can you say? I told (Ryan), if I have a boy, I'll have to name him Ryan."
With the recent scare, Wood and her husband Evan want to see AEDs in more public places.
"Just how it saved my life, it can say others lives," said Wood. "Especially, you know in fitness centers where this might be more likely to happen."
The AED used on Wood was donated by Parkview Hospital.
Each device costs around $2,000. But Wood says, what it does is priceless.
"You kind of appreciate the every day things more and thank the Lord for your kids and your family," she said.
The couple has experienced tragedy before. Two years ago, they lost their 2-year-old daughter Reece to heart complications. The Parkview YMCA is dedicating a playground to her. It will open this summer.
SOURCE: WANE.com