Bill Schaefer, Ballwin, MO – 67 at time of event (1999)

Ruthie asked her husband if he could hold on until they reached the gate at O’Hare airport. Bill says that request saved his life. If he had gone to the restroom like he wanted to, Roger, the flight attendant, wouldn’t have been there. Neither would the cardiologist from a nearby hospital. And Stacy, the lovely young and attractive blonde from Iowa, would never have given him the “kiss of life,” (the kiss of a lifetime?)

April 29, 2008 – GENEVA, IL ­– Robert Quinlan was only slightly kidding.

As he introduced the topic of the Kane County Forest Preserve District buying 12 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) recently, he said, “This is a topic close to my heart, obviously.”

Quinlan has not had to use a defibrillator but said later he does feel a lot of tension in his job as the chief financial officer for the forest commission. And that is just one of the many potential reasons defibrillators could be useful, especially in a forest preserve, where help might not immediately get to someone in distress.

The commission’s utilization committee recommended spending $15,000 through the state purchasing plan to buy 12 AEDs.

“(An AED is) very simple to use," said Commissioner John Fahy, R-West Dundee. “It walks you through it. But people have to get training so they’re not intimidated to use it.”

Inappropriate shocks can be a problem for some

April 28, 2008–BOSTON–More and more children with congenital heart disease are receiving implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) to maintain proper heart rhythm. ICDs were first introduced for adults in the 1980s, but little is known about how well they work in children, who account for less than one percent of recipients. A report in the April 29 Journal of the American College of Cardiology summarizes the largest pediatric experience to date. It finds the devices to be lifesaving, but also suggests that they tend to deliver more inappropriate shocks to children than to adults, making it important to watch children with ICDs closely.

Bonnie Stine, Lakeland, FL – 51 at time of event (2006)

Bonnie never knew that she had something wrong with her heart. No one put all the little pieces together. She was often a little out of breath, not exactly in shape, pre-menopausal, and even had a little swelling in her ankles. As a registered nurse, she might have known better, but cardiology was not her specialty. She knew she was overweight, and the two Caesarian sections hadn’t helped.

Steve Vanderhelm, Council Bluff, IA – 53 at time of event (2005)

Steve is an avid bike rider. He rides all year round, but in winter the bike never leaves the house. Summer is the best time, when he and his brother-in-law, Ed, regularly ride more than 20 miles through the hills and dales of Pottawattamie County, on the border with Nebraska.

Kayla Burt, Portland, OR – 20 at time of event (2002)

It was New Year’s Eve, and her basketball team was staying over to celebrate. But Kayla never saw the festivities. She had freshly brushed teeth, and a brush with death. Loree Payne, her best friend, watched Kayla fall face down between the bed and the TV—they all thought it was a joke. But it wasn’t.