Mike Papale – Wallingsford, CT – 17 at the time of the event (August 24, 2006)

I have no recollection of the day that changed my life forever. I’ll only be able to tell the stories that I’ve heard. People have told me to play the Lotto because there was a one in a million chance that I would survive. Although I’ve had many experiences that I will never forget, I will never remember the day that my 17-year-old body went into cardiac arrest.

David Belkin – Bethesda, MD – 65 at the time of the event (February 18, 2007)

I am a recent survivor of SCA (sudden cardiac arrest). Interestingly enough, I just came from my first visit with my electrophysiologist and when I referred to SCA, he looked puzzled. I said it referred to sudden cardiac arrest. He said he knew it as SCD or sudden cardiac death. I think his thinking is indicative of most people, including professionals, because most people do not survive my experience. I survived because there was an AED in place at the elementary school where I had my SCA.

Karen Etheridge, Brandon, MS – 40 at the time of the incident (September 29, 1995)

Karen Etheridge wasn’t having much luck in the Ameristar Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi on Sept. 29, 1995. So, deciding to cut her losses and go home, she sat down while husband John went to cash in what was left of their chips.

That action came horrifyingly close to becoming a metaphor as Karen’s luck turned even worse in the next few minutes.

“I jumped up,” she said, relying on second-hand accounts to relate the incidents of which she herself has no memory, “I grabbed my chest and fell down.”

Fortunately, there was an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the premises.

H .R. “Butch” Gibbs – Humeston, IA – 55 at the time of the event (April 2, 2004)

Gene Johnson, New Brighton, MN – 63 at the time of the incident (September 11, 2002)

On the first anniversary of the most tragic event our nation has ever experienced, Gene Johnson of New Brighton, Minnesota, nearly suffered his own personal tragedy—he almost lost his life.

It was June 6, 2005 and hairdresser Lisa Byers, 41, was giving a skin care presentation to women at an insurance agency in Temple, Texas. “Suddenly I sneezed and I just did not feel well. I excused myself, flipped out of my chair and just fell over,” she said.

There was an automated external defibrillator (AED) on the premises but meeting participants did not feel comfortable using it. They called 9-1-1 and paramedics arrived seven minutes later. After four shocks, she was resuscitated. They brought her to nearby Scott White Memorial Hospital.