Jerry Vauk Jr., Austin, TX­–38 at the time of the event (2008)

Saturday morning, Jerry sets off to test the bike route to his new workplace, two miles from home. He never got there. He doesn’t know why. In fact he can’t even remember the Friday before. He’s lucky to be able to tell the story. So very lucky, now he’s a survivor of the nation’s number one killer. He had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. He was found collapsed, under his bike, half on the sidewalk, half on the road.

Two men in a truck saw him and called 9-1-1. A nurse on her way to jazzercise class saw their truck blocking the lane and stopped to help administer CPR. No one else passed by while they waited for the emergency services.

Bill Schaefer–Ballwin, MO–67 at time of event (1999)

Ruthie asked her husband if he could hold on until they reached the gate at O’Hare airport. Bill says that request saved his life. If he had gone to the restroom like he wanted to, Roger, the flight attendant, wouldn’t have been there. Neither would the cardiologist from a nearby hospital. And Stacy, the lovely young and attractive blonde from Iowa, would never have given him the “kiss of life,” (the kiss of a lifetime?)

Bonnie Stine–Lakeland, FA–51 at time of event (2006)

Steve Vanderhelm–Council Bluff, IA–53 at time of event (2005)

Steve is an avid bike rider. He rides all year round, but in winter the bike never leaves the house. Summer is the best time, when he and his brother-in-law, Ed, regularly ride more than 20 miles through the hills and dales of Pottawattamie County, on the border with Nebraska.

Kayla Burt–Portland, OR­–20 at time of event (2002)