Keith White, Cincinnati, OH ­– 52 at the time of event (September 18, 2004)

I was an active field hockey coach and I was attending a dinner dance to celebrate the 60th anniversary of our church, Immaculate Heart of Mary, when I suddenly collapsed in front of the band. My wife called for help and an off-duty firefighter, Assistant Chief Tom Riemar, who also happened to be present at the dance was summoned. He performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) for about five minutes, together with some nurses who were also at the dinner dance.

One of the church staff members noticed the firefighter performing CPR and asked what was going on. He revealed that I was in SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) and was awaiting the Life Squad. She told him that the church had just received an AED (automated external defibrillator). He asked her to fetch it and then he used the AED to shock me to bring me back to life.