Nominees

Thanks to Jake's decisive actions and a Project ADAM AED, his friend survived and is doing well

Since I wasn’t present at the event, I will let Jake describe what happened. “I have always participated in athletics and spend every Wednesday evening playing pick-up basketball with my friends at a local school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We’re a very average group of men, all in our early 30s, but one Wednesday night pick-up basketball game turned out to be “not-so-average.” When we were about… Read More

Without bystander help, I would be another statistic in the sudden cardiac death column

On Wednesday, July 29th, 2015, I boarded SWA flight #898 in Las Vegas, NV, and departed for Boise, ID, for a business meeting. My flight arrived at 5:25 pm. As I headed for the baggage claim, I noticed that I became slightly lightheaded. There were four seats along the right wall of the concourse. When I took a couple of steps I felt my lightheadedness increase and decided to sit down. I was… Read More

High school CPR training comes in handy

After attending a baseball game in Detroit, I was walking back to my car with my daughters. We came upon a scene where a homeless gentleman was frantic and another homeless gentleman was laying on the ground. The first gentleman said he is dead. We could see that he was not moving nor breathing. Another bystander (unknown name but declared he has medical training) and my daughter (who works in a… Read More

If not for my 15-year-old son's persistence, I would certainly have died that day

I was a 52-year-old practicing physician and soccer mom. I had no cardiac risk factors and was thin and fit. I thought I was perfectly healthy when I woke up one Saturday morning and was getting ready to drive my 15-year-old son Eli to a soccer tournament. I was drying my hair when I suddenly had very severe pain which felt like something tearing in my chest. I thought it was heartburn and… Read More

Last summer I almost lost him

My memory is limited about the event, but I do know that I would not be here if Amy was not with me when I went down. So, I will let Amy describe what happened. “Michael is my partner of 17 years. Last summer I almost lost him. He had come inside after watering the plants on a hot summer day. He looked at me and began gasping. Then he fell on the floor. At first, I was unsure if he was choking… Read More

A guardian angel walking the earth

On March 28, 2019, my husband, Richie, went to play deck hockey, as he has a few times a week for as long as I have known him. He was 38-years-old and perfectly healthy. He exercised regularly, ate well, worked at a job that he loved, and didn't smoke. We are high school sweethearts, have two kids, and the picture-perfect life. The story I would hear later was that Richie didn't feel well… Read More

Without Bob, I would not be here today

I went into cardiac arrest when I was 17-years-old while working at a local basketball camp. No one did CPR right away. There was no AED on site. Bob got the 911 call on his pager while he was sitting at his desk in the building next door working his day job. He came over to the scene, found me turning blue, and gasping. He performed CPR perfectly until an ambulance arrived with an AED. Without… Read More

Because they acted fast

On July 24, 2019 at approximately 1:00 pm, I was standing, talking to my fiancé and my heart went into ventricular fibrillation, sending me into cardiac arrest. I was clinically dead before I even collapsed to the floor. Tyler, my 13-year-old, called 911 and Debbie started CPR, saving me from anoxic brain damage. I am here today with my two sons and fiancé because they acted fast. I would like to… Read More

All because he gave me CPR

I was six months away from being commissioned into the Navy Reserves and 41-years-old. I was attending a meeting with my construction manager, Tom Farley, and the vice president of the company when I collapsed while answering a question. Tom caught me by my throat and put me on the ground. Immediately, he began CPR. The AED that arrived had a dead aftermarket battery! He resumed CPR. Then a… Read More

Thanks to Chuck, I am not an SCA statistic

On June 19, 2019, I was jogging to the local community gym for my normal morning workout, which would have been followed by a jog back home. That day, however, my life changed in a heartbeat or more nearly the lack of a heartbeat. I collapsed on the sidewalk, unconscious until spotted by an older couple who didn’t know what to do. Fortunately for me, Chuck Cooper was not working this day and was… Read More