Bill Schafer, 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?)
Instead, Bill hung on, and when he reached the end of the travelator* it threw him to the ground, breaking his glasses. Ruthie turned around and saw Bill dying on the floor in front of her. Roger saw it too and started CPR immediately—he’s an instructor for United Airlines. The cardiologist was on his way to Australia for a vacation, and called out to security, telling them to bring an AED. United had only installed the device in that terminal 10 days before. The security guard also called 9-1-1.
It took 14 minutes for the EMTs to arrive, during which time the AED had shocked Bill three times. He crashed twice more on the way to ER. “I had a textbook best-case scenario for surviving a cardiac arrest.” Bill says with pride. “I had two highly qualified people performing the CPR. Roger trains other flight attendants in CPR. Stacy had recently received her certificate in CPR training, and the doctor witnessing the collapse was a cardiac specialist at the hospital I was taken to after the attack. The staff at that hospital were not about to lose me—after the work that he had done!”
While Bill’s life was being saved, Ruthie was saving his luggage. They’d been on their way to Rome to catch a cruise-liner. Alas, they didn’t make the trip. Instead Bill got a bionic enhancement and a story of miracles for his grandchildren.
You could say Bill is a veteran. Not only did he serve in the Air Force, but also he has just received his third ICD. The other units served him well, giving him four life saving jolts. The first time, he was in a hotel shower, and thought someone had wired up the electricity to the faucet. Naturally, Ruthie drove them home from that trip. The second time, he caused Ruthie to drop a stitch while they were watching TV. His face went slack, and his body suddenly jerked. She set the knitting aside and called 9-1-1. By the time she hung up Bill had opened his eyes and said, “What happened?” The next two times he was alone doing some handyman chores around the house. He knows that without an ICD he’d never get to see Rome.
“CPR is not a restart button, even when a beautiful blonde woman is performing the mouth-to-mouth breathing!” Bill said, when praising the fact that an AED was available when he needed it. He is convinced they should be as prevalent as fire extinguishers, or automatic sprinkler systems. “If you want to survive a sudden cardiac arrest, flying or gambling** is your best bet.”
* Similar to an escalator, these moving walkways, or conveyor belts typically transport people horizontally.
** AEDs are mandated safety devices in airports, planes and casinos.
-Jeremy Whitehead