Claire Dunlap, Boynton Beach, FL – 15 at time of event (2009)
The softball team had won that Wednesday afternoon in West Boca High School. Claire, the varsity centerfield starter, was huddled with her team members on right field, talking about the next days practice. She fell over and started to gasp.
"I was turning blue and making snorting sounds," Claire said. "I was trying to get air into my lungs." Her Mom, Patti, was in the stands and didn't know just how serious it was.
Sarah, the trainer, was called over and began CPR immediately. However it wasn't making any difference. Claire still wasn't breathing. Ricky, an off duty EMT was watching his son play at the same field and saw the commotion. He came over and instantly saw the problem.
"You have to get the AED. CPR is not going to work!" Ricky said.
Lucky for Claire, they had an AED on the field and deployed it quickly. Three shocks later her heart beat returned. Someone had called 9-1-1.
The ambulance arrived and transported Claire to West Boca hospital, where she was admitted into ICU.
"They put me in a coma for three days," Claire said. "After that I was transferred to Jackson Memorial Hospital –that's a really big hospital down in Miami– where they could do more testing to figure out what was happening."
Claire soon underwent an EP study. "They, basically, put my heart back into a cardiac arrest really fast!" she said. "They had to use [a defibrillator] while I was in surgery."
She also underwent a cardiac stress test, MRI, and CT scan to attempt to identify exactly why she had a cardiac arrest.
"They did find something on my stress test, the T-wave or something was off," she recalled. And that revealed her need for an ICD, which was implanted the following day.
"After 11 days [in total] I got to go home! I got out on a Saturday, and I went back to school that Monday." Claire said with pride.
"During those 11 days, I wanted to go to school so bad!" She exclaimed. "Being in hospital was not something I enjoyed at all," Claire said with a laugh. "…the worst experience of my life!"
She recalled a problem with her eye, in addition to the normal soreness from CPR and the wound from the ICD implant. "I came out of surgery one of the days, and they tape your eyes shut, as the doctor was taking it off he cut one of my eyes. That was the most painful thing I've ever been through!"
Claire also remembers being woken by the nurses. "They would come in at night and check everything, I never got any sleep!"
She is coming up to her first anniversary of the event, and is somewhat concerned.
"I'm definitely nervous, but my goal, when I got out of the hospital, is to not get shocked. To go a whole year with no problems at all. I've made it so far!"
Claire now wears a heart rate monitor while playing softball and is careful to avoid getting hit in the chest. She is now more aware of her heart beating. "It's funny I can go from one extreme, not caring at all, to the next where you care so much. But it doesn’t hold me back at all."
"When it [her heart rate] gets around 190 I stop, go get a drink, and breath deep." Her device is programmed for therapy at 220 since she is so young and fit.
"Most people don't go through experiences like this. I think I've grown stronger, and learnt so much. Before my accident I didn't know what an AED was!" She agrees that the event has made her more mature and was a positive experience.
"Sometimes I think it's been a bad thing, a lot of anger. You know ' Why me? Why did this have to happen? ' I had such a bright future ahead of me! But, then I realize it could have been worse…"
Her motto; “Be strong, don’t give up hope. It’s only going to get easier [to cope with].”
-Jeremy Whitehead