Posted by Haiheo on 10/23/2017

August 20, 2017 marked the first anniversary of my rebirth! It was exactly a year ago to that date that a SCA changed my life forever. That Friday was a particularly normal Friday, like most Fridays in my life.
I had gone to work all day, went out to eat dinner with some friends, and then went home to bed. It was like I said, a normal Friday. No abnormal symptoms, nothing out of the ordinary. I prepared for bed at around 11:00 pm. I drifted off to sleep and never woke up....
At 1:30am, my husband suddenly heard gasping sounds coming from our bedroom. He had just returned from his shift an hour ago and still had not gone to bed ( thank God he was home and was awake). He ran in to find me blue, frothing at the mouth and desperately gasping for air. He immediately called 911 and my 2 daughters came to my side. My eldest daughter administered chest compressions with the guidance of the 911 Operator. They continued CPR until the paramedics arrived 10 minutes later. The paramedics continued to try to revive me for another 20 minutes, using the defibrillator to shock my heart 7 times, before telling my family they were sorry and that they had done everything they could. My family refused to accept I was gone. They insisted I be taken to the hospital and a doctor try to revive me. Somehow they convinced them to take me to the hospital.
I later found out somewhere along the 10 minutes ride to the hospital, they had a very faint pulse. They were certain I was down too long and would be a vegetable. They offered my family no guarantees and were pretty much done with me. I was in an induced coma for 11 days, my family not knowing if I would make it. And if by some miracle that I would make it through, that I would be severely brain damaged or a vegetable. There were no promises of any good favorable outcomes for me.
I received round the clock care, prayers from those I love.
After 11 days, I came back to life. A miracle has happened, I was alive and more important to me, I was not brain damaged. I remembered my family, my friends, my passwords, everything! I had no memory loss of my life before the SCA. I am so grateful to my family who fought for me along side the paramedics, the wonderful doctors and nurses who took care of me and did not give up on me!
Today, I wake up each day with a prayer of thanks! That I am well, I am alive and I am with my family. I try to take extra good care of myself so I can be here for as long as possible with my family. Tomorrow is never promised to anyone. Without warning, my tomorrow was almost taken away. But I am here, still here, by the grace of God!

Comments

Submitted by SCAFoundation on 10/25/2017

Permalink

Hi Haiheo,
We are so happy to hear that you survived cardiac arrest without any brain damage! Your story is a true inspiration! We are so happy for you and for your family who never gave up!
Mary Newman

Wow Haiheo! What a wonderful story! Life changing not only for you but also your family fighting for your life!
I have been harping on getting more AED's placed for public access, but your story makes me think I might get one for our family, too! This was suggested to me in a recent response by Bob Trenkamp, President of "Saving lives in Chatham County" www.slic.org . He has a personal unit that he carries with him. Makes sense to me since we don't have quick access to one otherwise, and time is of the essence, as you well know.
Anyway, many happy returns and live well!
Country Boy

Share