Dawn Blake, Andover, MN – 33 at the time of event (2006)

I had my sudden cardiac arrest on May 19th, 2006 at the age of 33. I was sleeping on the couch because I thought I was having muscle spasms in my back. My husband Mike, who is an EMT, woke up to an unidentified sound and found me unresponsive. He started CPR and called 9-1-1.

The Anoka County Sheriff’s department arrived within two to four minutes with an AED (automated external defibrillator) and oxygen. They tell me I was shocked once with the AED. Then the Allina paramedics arrived and I was shocked four more times before a heart rhythm was established.

I was transported to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids, where I was shocked five more times in the ER. I went to the Cath Lab, where they removed the blockage to my heart and put my body into hypothermia.