9 out of 10 people who suffer cardiac arrest outside of the hospital, die. In most of these cases, bystander CPR was not performed. However, on July 3rd 2009, I was an exception to a common story.
I was excercising at the gym and suffered cardiac arrest. There were only 3 people in the gym, it was the afternoon before July 4th. My family was preparing to leave for Lake Powell the next day. Next to me on the treadmill was a doctor, who immediately recognized what happened. He began to perform CPR and asked a gym employee to call 911. The onsite AED did not restart my heart, and approximiately 20 minutes later paramedics were able to restart it in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.
Once at the hospital, my body was cooled so my vital organs would not be stressed. The doctors instered an internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) and this ICD has saved my life 9 times since 2009. My heart has stopped in a bike shop, at a Wendy's, mowing the lawn, in the shower and at a wedding in front of friends and family.
In March 2019 I underwent open heart surgery to repair a damaged heart valve.
I've undergone 2 cardiac ablations to repair atrial fibrillation. (AFIB)
In November of 2023 I suffered a stroke that may or may not be related to my heart health challenges.
The first ICD was implanted in a patient in 1980, when I was 13 years old. Look how far we've come!
I Walk to Save Lives. Please consider helping me reach my goal.
