Community Voices: I’m Alive Because My Softball Teammates Knew CPR

Community Voices: I’m Alive Because My Softball Teammates Knew CPR
On Oct. 28, at approximately 12:10 p.m., I died—literally. My killer was sudden cardiac arrest, and for 14 minutes, I had no pulse—but because four people nearby knew what to do until paramedics arrived, I’m able to tell my tale.

I’m a 55-year-old man with no family history of heart disease. I like to think I’m in pretty good shape; I work out several times a week, play sports regularly and do my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Still, on that day, I learned that cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, anytime, regardless of age or health. I also learned that what happens in the time it takes paramedics to arrive can be the difference between life and death.

I was playing in a local softball tournament, and my team was coming up to bat. As I went into the dugout to get something to drink, I had no chest pain, and I didn’t feel winded. In fact, I was eager to step into the batter’s box. That’s all I remember before waking up in the Eisenhower Medical Center intensive care unit roughly six hours later.

According to friends, teammate Jair Jimenez was the first to notice something was wrong, catching me as I collapsed in the dugout. Then, three Desert Regional Medical Center emergency room and ICU nurses on my team—Jeff Wade, Desiree Green and Katherine Green—recognized I was in heart failure and immediately began chest compressions and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The sports complex didn’t have a defibrillator onsite, and it took paramedics 14 minutes to arrive, during which I had no pulse. If it hadn’t been for the CPR training of these three angels in the dugout, you wouldn’t be reading this story.

According to the American Heart Association, about 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals each year, and less than 10 percent of those people survive. If performed immediately, CPR and AED (automated external defibrillator) use can double, triple or quadruple the chance of survival. What happened to me is a perfect example of why local cities and Riverside County should have remote AEDs at every park and recreational facility. But that’s not the point of this article.

I hope this story demonstrates how CPR can mean the difference between life and death during the minutes between calling 911 and the arrival of paramedics. There are classes anyone can take online and throughout the Coachella Valley. I was lucky to have my knowledgeable teammates around me when I needed them.

My hope is that when sudden cardiac arrest happens to someone else, there will be people around who are able to give them life-saving CPR. Who knows? You might even save someone.

I’m happy to be alive.