Don is alive today due to an AED and a quick acting rescuer

Don is alive today due to an AED and a quick acting rescuer.

Don was an avid golfer and vintage car restorer. Don still is today due to an AED and a quick acting rescuer. On an August afternoon last year, Don was playing golf at the Monticello Country Club. He had not been feeling well. Don wasn’t having chest pain and he wasn’t short of breath. Don had an extremely anxious feeling and just couldn’t settle down. Don was scared. Not knowing what to do, Don called his son who called 911. Minutes later, Don suddenly stopped talking, became unconscious and turned blue. He had stopped breathing. A quick thinking rescuer hooked up a nearby AED. The rescuer had been AED trained and recognized Don’s life threatening condition. Once the AED pads were placed on Don’s chest, the AED analyzed Don’s heart rhythm. It was recognized as a lethal arrhythmia and the AED immediately self-charged to shock Don’s heart.

Once the AED was charged, the AED told the rescuer to push the shock button delivering the shock. The first shock was not successful and the AED immediately repeated the procedure and the rescuer delivered the second shock. A few seconds later, after the second shock, Don began breathing and his skin color returned to normal. Don soon regained consciousness and immediately started questioning the rescuer of what had just happened.

Don knew something serious had just happened to him, but he wasn’t sure how to explain it. The paramedics told Don that his heart had stopped beating. The AED and rescuer saved his life. Don was transported to the hospital. Cardiologists diagnosed Don as having a heart attack, and placed a stent in one of his coronary arteries. Don has lived a normal life ever since the incident. Thanks to an AED and a trained rescuer, Don continued to restore vintage cars this past winter and is looking forward to golfing this summer.

Don’s story is not unusual. He was resuscitated because his heart was shocked with an AED immediately. AEDs work and should be available where ever you see a fire extinguisher.