Bob Trenkamp's blog

Retired firefighters use AED to save golfer
By GEORGIA ZERMENO, Reporter, The Friday Flyer

"It was about 4:15 or 4:30 p.m.," says Liz Hefferon. "I was picking my husband up after he completed a game of golf, and we went into the clubhouse for a drink – that's when it happened."

A moment that changed some lives, a moment that saved another's life.

According to Golf Course employee Ian Nelson, he was working the desk when someone opened the door and yelled, "Call 911, we have someone down on the 18th hole!"

Ian immediately called 911 and gave them the location, had someone watch the desk and headed out to see how he could help.

Ian says what he witnessed was amazing. "They were doing CPR, then they did the defibrillator. The guy was blue, lifeless, and then suddenly he took a gasp of air. They saved his life."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLzhTwPYIJ4

Vermont already has their law in place, and New York is considering the issue again.

Inch-by-inch we'll get there.

Quick thinking saves the life of a Bixby high school student

By Rick Couri
Not everyone is good in a crisis situation but Monday in Bixby, several were. A student at Bixby high school called 911 after a 15 year old named John collapsed from cardiac arrest. EMSA dispatcher Trent Morris took that call and talked a teacher through the use of an AED. "Luckily Bixby high school has their teachers trained in CPR and AED use and that's what saved that young mans life" trent told us.

The AED did it's job and John's heart responded. He was taken to St Francis hospital where he was in critical condition. Thursday Morris got a rare treat, he met John’s grandmother Barbara Smart. Barbara hugged Trent for what seemed like minutes while she repeated "Thank you Trent, thank you Trent, bless your heart."

Boy Goes Into Cardiac Arrest at Little League Game

An 11-year-old boy was revived after going into cardiac arrest after being hit by a pitch during a Monday night Little League game at Cook Park in Colonie, N.Y.
It was a balmy night in the Albany suburb. In the bottom of the first inning the little leaguer went up to bat. The ball struck him in the chest, causing him to collapse to the ground.

He had suffered from a condition called commotio cordis. It is incredibly rare, occurring only three to four times a year nationally [sic] and mostly in young boys while playing sports.

“It’s an agitation of the heart,” said Colonie EMS Chief Peter Berry. “It happens when a sports player suffers blunt force trauma. If it hits just right, it disrupts the heart’s electric signals and sends the child into cardiac arrest.”

The next few moments were full of fright for onlookers.

“It was scary for everyone involved,” said Frank Prevratil

Ely rugby player saved after bystander CPR

Tuesday, 10 April 2012 14:52

Alan Turpie suffered a cardiac arrest on Saturday afternoon whilst playing for Ely Tigers at Shelford. He was resuscitated on the pitch by team mates before paramedics arrived.

Gary Spitzer, of the East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS), said: "I'd like to thank the patient's team-mates who gave us fantastic support at the scene. Their concern for their friend was clear and they helped us in every way they could."

The EEAS also said it had given instructions on how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Turpie's team mates.

Reflect for a moment that the lowest save rate for cardiac arrest victims is on a farm and the highest is at the Phoenix, AZ airport. It's not that farms are unhealthy and airports are not. Just look to the AHA chain of survival the CARES project, the Denmark study, and the Phoenix results for the answer.

The best chance of surviving comes when someone sees you go down, determines that you're non-responsive and not breathing, calls 911, immediately begins chest compressions, defibrillates within 2-3 minutes, and get picked up by the ambulance within a few more.

Thus, to improve your chances of surviving an out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, someone else in your house has to know CPR and has to be there. But to really ring the bell, there has to be an AED in the home. This is taught by the Phoenix Airport's stunning "save with major brain function intact" average rate of 75%.

My sympathy to the family and friends.

This tragedy underscores the urgent need for having an AED and at least two trained persons at every athletic contest or practice. You can help by writing to the school authorities and advocating this. You can help even more by raising the funds to support this. This isn't something that happens in someone else's neighborhood - it could happen in yours tomorrow. We need to stop the needless death of hundreds of school children every year!
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Tragedy as Hagley teen collapses and dies during rugby match
By Sarah Beard 21/03 Updated: 24/03 08:52
Read more: Tragedy as Hagley teen collapses and dies during rugby match | Bromsgrove Standard

A HAGLEY teenager has died after his heart stopped beating during a school rugby match.

WRIGTHSVILLE BEACH, NC (WECT) – James Glasgow, 36 of Mt. Pleasant, SC, collapsed earlier this month while running in the Wrightsville Beach Marathon.

He went down less than a mile from the finish line and was given a 5-8 percent chance of survival.

"I was a hundred yards away from the finish line," said Glasgow more than a week after the collapse. "[I] sat down, crossed my legs and just layed back on the sidewalk."

A bystander saw Glasgow lying on the sidewalk and started doing CPR. An EMT crew came over two minutes later to take over. They paddled the runner and then took him to New Hanover Regional Medical Center where doctors used the Arctic Sun technique to keep Glasgow alive.

Widespread CPR training saves lives
March 26, 2012 in Cardiology
A nationwide effort in Denmark to increase the number of people trained in CPR led to an increase in bystander CPR and ultimately contributed to increased cardiac arrest survival rates in that country, according to research presented today at the American College of Cardiology's 61st Annual Scientific Session. The Scientific Session, the premier cardiovascular medical meeting, brings cardiovascular professionals together to further advances in the field.

Man Dies During Flag Football Game at W-L High School

by ARLnow.com

A 22-year-old man died Saturday after collapsing while playing football at Washington-Lee High School.

The man collapsed at about 5:40 p.m. during a flag football game. Police say witnesses immediately began treating the man, who briefly regained consciousness, but he was later pronounced dead in a local hospital.

“He was able to stand up and ask ‘what was happening’ before collapsing again,” said Arlington County Police spokesman Dustin Sternbeck. “Witnesses on scene, including an ACPD officer and a nurse, were able to immediately begin CPR until medics arrived.”

So far, police have not confirmed the man’s identity, but friends of the victim have taken to Twitter to help mourn his passing.

** unless the victim is vomiting, in which case you need to roll them to their left side, just far enough so that it's easier to manage the airway.