Survivor Stories

My name is Amy Jones.  I am 37 years old.  September 7, 2009 was the day my life changed forever. The first part of my story will be told from the recollection of others – the story may be incomplete because my husband, who is a major part in this story, does not like to talk about this. It is simply too painful. It is easier for me because I don't remember. I am almost a third party to the entire experience.

Michelle Bychowsky, Hoboken, NJ – 34 at time of event (2008)

Michelle works for Novartis, she trained as a pharmacist, and now manages the drug supply for investigational trials. She was presenting during a meeting on that Wednesday, when she fell forward onto the table in front of her. 911 was called and several colleagues, who were also EMTs, hurried over to assist.
"I'd never met [them before] but now I keep in touch with them," she said.

On the evening of February 19, 2008, we welcomed our precious Leila Julianna into the world, born with a clean bill of health. We spent the typical three days in the hospital and then came home to settle in. After a busy evening at home, we all fell asleep. You never think when you fall asleep, that when you wake up, your entire life will change. But ours did. I awoke in the night to a chilling silence and a terrible feeling inside.

Jim Niskanen, Modesto, CA –  (2008)

August 25, 2008 could have been a delightful day for Jim Niskanen. Two days earlier he arrived at the picturesque and luxurious Oglebay Resort and Conference Center outside Wheeling, West Virginia. Oglebay is the largest self-sustaining public resort in the USA, and includes a conference center, three golf courses and a zoo.
Jim enjoyed a morning of golf and prepared for his presentation to an evening class of recreation and park professionals. As he organized his materials for his talk about fundraising for public agencies, he commented to the resort’s foundation director, Bill Koegler, “This is what I want to be remembered for [helping agencies raise money], not building parks and swimming pools. I want this to be my legacy.”

Evan Piekara, Queens, NY – 24 at time of event (2008)

Teach for America* nearly lost one of their stars. Just one month after his 24th birthday, Evan collapsed on the St John’s University basketball court. He’d had a trying month, twenty days straight without a break, and this was his first day off. It became a longer time-out than planned.

That July afternoon he fell to the ground after a particularly satisfying basket. Everyone stopped and stared. Someone thought to call security. Steve Ptacek arrived in minutes and brought an AED with him. He started CPR since Evan had no pulse, and wasn’t breathing, just making a strange gasping sound. The AED could not restore a rhythm. Evan was dying. Fit, healthy and energetic, this young man was slipping away and yet everything possible was being done to save him.

Sonja Crawford, California, MD – 32 at time of event (1999)

Sonja has a beautiful 10 year-old son to remind her of the morning she was declared dead. Her pregnancy had been completely normal, until she went in for the delivery of her second son. She thought it was time, but the OB-GYN thought otherwise. The labor was quite intense, such strong pain and yet she was not dilating. She was told to return the next day. During a bathroom visit to get changed, her water broke, so she stayed in the hospital for overnight observation. Lucky they hadn’t sent her home, because at 3:16 am she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Eddie Rinehart, Austin, TX – 39 at time of event (2008)

Eddie had no idea it would be so important. He just decided on a whim to drive to the club and use the treadmill for his morning run. Normally he pounded the neighborhood streets around 5:30am. Not that spring day.

“I was five minutes into the run and I felt really weird. I was light headed. The last memory I have is that I was moving my hand to slow down the treadmill,” Eddie said. “The next memory I have is being wheeled out of the gym on a stretcher with the paramedics at my side.”

Sophia Jaromay, Antioch, CA – 20 at time of event (2008)

Sophia loved her work. She hung out with her work mates, and made good money. Not any more. The happy twenty-year-old was enjoying an impromptu party at a colleague's apartment after work late one evening when everything suddenly changed. Sophia only knows what they’ve told her. And she doesn’t really want to know at all.

“I was completely healthy. I was pretty physically fit. There was nothing wrong with me!” Sophia exclaimed.
“I was sitting on the couch with my friend (Amanda), and I suddenly tried to get up. I fell back down and told everyone that I felt really dizzy,” Sophia explains. “They thought I was probably drunk, and said ‘Oh, okay, whatever...’ and then I fell over and starting shaking.”

Michael Larsen, Seattle, WA – 45 at time of event (2005)

Michael is a pianist. He was once a large pianist — now he’s more careful, and slimmer! In 1999 he suffered a severe heart attack and needed a quadruple bypass. Unfortunately, his heart muscle was damaged and his EF remains very low. At that time ICDs were not implanted as a safety measure like they are now for LVEF <%35. So that brings us to his story.

Working in Seattle on a stage production, Michael had just finished a tiring day and was walking down Pike Place past the market that is a Seattle institution. He was on the cell phone checking in with his producer, apparently telling her that he felt fine, “never felt better before” were his words. Not that Michael can remember the conversation...

Stephen Woodcock, Kokomo, IN – 62 at time of event (2009)

After their normal Saturday breakfast out, Steve decided to get a quick bike ride in before they sat down to watch the Kentucky Derby. Diane was preparing for the race when the door bell rang. She was expecting Steve back, but it was the Sheriff’s deputy at the door, with bad news. Steve had had an accident and was at the hospital. Diane wasn’t overly worried since he’d had many scrapes before. Just one of the downsides to regularly riding a push bike 100 miles on highways.

“People like to hit him!” Diane sad in all seriousness. “It’s happened before so I thought ‘Well someone’s hit him, Steve’s fallen down, something’s happened. Broken leg, broken arm, we can deal with this.”