My name is Sarah Taffet and I am a SCA survivor. On October 3, 2021 I was playing a softball game when my whole life changed. I hit the ball to the first basemen and as I was running, she was running towards me and tagged me in my chest. I felt okay and got up and started running off the field. After feeling like the wind got knocked out of me and starting to lose control of my body, I knew something was very wrong. It all happened in a second. My body got numb, I lost all control of my body, and the last thing I remember was everything around me turning black.
With a lot of luck that day and a lot of amazing people, I am here today. I began seizing and my teammate yelled for my trainer. My trainer knew something was wrong right away and in an instant sprinted out to see me. There were three medical professionals on site that day helping my trainer save my life. I had two round of CPR followed by a shock from the defibrillator. I was out for around 2 1/2 minutes and remember waking up from the shock and it felt as if I was holding my breath for a very long time. I was confused and shocked and stayed a few nights in the hospital.
No one could really understand what happened to me or why it did so I had a series of tests done. Around a month later, I found out I had a rare congenital heart defect called ALCAPA. I had a CT scan on October 28 and open heart surgery November 1. It turns out that tag saved my life. I found out that my heart was bound to stop at any moment and the fact I lived all that time with a “bad” heart was truly a miracle.
Another miracle was that my CA episode was at a location with professionals who were able to save my life. My story ended with a positive ending, but this is not always the case for SCA victims. I am blessed to be here today to share my story and I want to continue educating myself and others about SCA and AED awareness so that more people have an outcome like me.