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 This is my story. I am a paramedic who encountered one the most challenging calls of my career on May 27, 2007 at the age of 52, my own cardiac arrest. I was working out at the firehouse on shift on the treadmill when I started having an uncomfortable feeling in my chest. I slowed down and walked for awhile and then got off the treadmill and took a full aspirin. I walked out to the ambulance were some of the other paramedics were training. They put me on the monitor and ran a 12 lead EKG. This showed I was having a heart attack, a STEMI MI. En route to the hospital I arrested five times. On the last defibrillation I woke up with them bagging me. I had to ask them why? They then told me what had happen. I was taken to the cath lab and a stent put in my coronary artery.

I never thought something like this could happen to me.  I had just turned 51; I was working out twice a day for over 2 1/2 hours; 13% body fat; good diet; low blood pressure, cholestrol level great; all vital signs good!  Then it happened and I don't remember a single part of it.  On New Years Day - 2009, I had just completed my morning workout and was minutes away from walking out of the gym, which was getting ready to close for the holiday.  Following a morning of weight lifting and then an hour of Spin (cycling), I had jogged 1/2 mile and was just walking a couple of laps to cool down.  8 days later I awoke from a coma after having suffered and survived full cardiac arrest.

I had open heart surgery in May of 2009. It is now November and I am so frustrated over the lack of energy I have and the stiffness and soreness. When do things return to normal???

October has been filled with activities around the country to raise awareness and help save lives threatened by sudden cardiac arrest. Here are some things we've been up to:

Sept. 19, 2009 - 7 years of survival.  It's hard to believe 7 years have passed since my SCA.  I've had my ICD battery replaced once, and *knock on wood* it has only fired twice - both times within weeks of being implanted in 2002.  My EF has been 50% for the past 6 years -normal!  It had been down to 35% in the beginning, after a bout with pericarditis which led to my SCA.

Thank you all for sharing your stories of survival.  It's almost like sharing stories of children's births - not one is exactly like the other.  I continue to fight to get more AEDs in my workplace.  Currently, we only have one in our 9 story building.  NOT ENOUGH!  If I had my way, we'd have one on each floor.

Well, thanks for listening.  Take care and best wishes to all.

Chris

My personal connection to the cause

I have worked for many years in the field of emergency medical services. People often ask me why I am interested in sudden cardiac arrest. Do I have a personal experience that motivates me?

I  respond that I am simply interested because I recognize the huge potential for saving so many lives cut drastically short by this treatable condition. And, I have been blessed to know and work with many of the giants in the field.

     AED devices only work if people who are trained actually use them.  My husband suffered a heart attack while playing basketball at the YMCA in town.  They have an AED device and have people there trained in CPR, but no-one used the device to try to save him.  I have also learned that if they had it would have "significantly improved his chance of survival".   

I am thinking today of all the fathers who survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) because someone close by was ready, willing and able to help. Someone who, by the way, looks a lot like you.

Just last week, I was privileged to hear two fathers--recent SCA survivors--share their experiences during an American Heart Association meeting in Washington, D.C. Eddie Rinehart, of Austin, TX, and Jim Niskanen, of Modesto, CA, were grateful for many things--but most of all, they were grateful to be reunited with their families.

"I am so thankful that my wife is not a widow and I will get to see my girls (Ella and Grace, 3 and 5) grow up," said Eddie.

On May 2,2009 my husband of 41 years suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while bicycling on Hyw.26 here in Kokomo, Indiana. I didn't know anything was wrong until a sheriff's deputy came to the door and told me that I was needed at Howard Regional Emergency Room. I was actually pretty calm as I drove to the hospital as the deputy had told me that he was not hurt bad. When I arrived at the hospital I was taken to a room and told to wait for the Doctor. Then I knew it was bad! When she came she told me that my husband had had a heart attack. My first reaction was "No, that can't be right!" My husband has been in good health the entire time we have been married. He did have high cholestrol but it had come way down. After getting sick, the Doctor took me to see my husband. It was almost more that I could bear seeing him lying there like that. I broke down and could not handle it.