Im Putting My Heart Into Changing the Odds

[Music]

hello 9-1-1

i’m at plano senior high somebody just

fell to the ground

and we need we need an ambulance all

right okay i’ve got

paramedics on the way can you tell me

what happened she just

fell i was standing here talking to her

and she fell

and is she awake oh no she’s

unconscious okay is she breathing um is

she breathing

she’s not breathing

is there somebody else there with you

ma’am yes somebody’s doing chest

compressions and we have an athletic

trainer just came out okay so somebody’s

doing cpr

um they’re doing chest compressions all

right stay on the line with me okay

is there a defibrillator available is

this a different

lighter well there is yes there’s a

defibrillator

do not touch patients analyzing heart

rhythm please wait

move away from the cases

all right let me know when they’re right

there with her okay

okay there they just hold up

okay they’re here okay ma’am i’ll

i didn’t know it at the time but i was

the star of that video

when i woke up on the morning of october

11 2018

i had no idea i would end the day in the

hospital

i found out later that i had a sudden

cardiac arrest

my rescuers are my heroes my friend

diane

a coach an athletic trainer and twin

high school girls

so here’s what happened immediately my

friend called 911. within 45 seconds

i was receiving cpr

and at two minutes i got the first of

two shocks from an aed

which is an automated external

defibrillator

at three minutes the ambulance arrived

and rushed me to the hospital

i was finally breathing on my own and my

heart was beating

when i got to the hospital i remember

opening my eyes and looking up the

ceiling tiles

i heard the medical staff attending to

me say

welcome back and you are a very

lucky woman

i was lucky because my responders were

able to give me cpr so quickly

i was able to get oxygen to my brain and

i didn’t suffer brain damage

i’m not a doctor nor do i play one on tv

however i have been a patient in a few

hospitals and i do have some of those

plastic water jugs and

no slip socks to prove it

so i have learned a few things your

heart can malfunction

in two different ways first

a heart attack

second a cardiac arrest

do you know the difference i sure didn’t

before i had a cardiac arrest

they are very different so now let’s

look at how they are different

a heart attack is caused by a blockage

in an artery causing restriction of

blood flow

it is a circulation or plumbing problem

so a patient may have

symptoms like arm pain chest pain

shortness of breath

nausea and those symptoms may occur a

day

a week or even longer before a heart

attack happens

also when a heart attack happens the

patient is most likely

conscious

now with a cardiac arrest

it is more of an electrical malfunction

of the heart

the heart stops the patient stops

breathing

and there’s no blood flow to the brain

the patient

is unconscious

did you know that every year in the

united states

475 000 americans die of

sudden cardiac arrest it is the leading

cause

of death in the united states

globally sudden cardiac arrest kills as

many people

as alzheimer’s several forms of cancer

motor vehicle accidents and this entire

list

combined

what if you are with your family of ten

and you’re all gathered around the

thanksgiving table it’s thanksgiving day

you’re passing the rolls passing the

corn

maybe asking for an extra piece of

pumpkin pie

now what if all of you have a sudden

cardiac arrest

do you know how many will survive

one only one

that’s ten percent

and that’s the national average

now imagine your same family of ten

you went to las vegas now you’re having

fun

you’re pulling the arms of the slot

machines maybe went in some money

tragedy strikes again what if all of you

have

a sudden cardiac arrest how many do you

think will survive

any guesses actually

seven seventy percent will survive

why is there such a big difference

because

the security officers at casinos are

cpr and aed trained and they know where

to

find an aed

so what if you witness a sudden cardiac

arrest

what do you do first

call 9-1-1 stay on the phone

until the ambulance arrives then start

hands-only cpr you don’t need to blow in

anyone’s mouth anymore

just use your two hands place them

together

and place them firmly upon the victim’s

chest

and push hard and fast to the rhythm of

the bg song

staying alive staying alive staying

alive

and i know you know this song you can’t

you can’t regret ever not

hearing the bee gees play this it’s

staying alive staying alive

then send someone to get an aed

you in the blue shirt go get an aed

when they bring the aed back you open it

up

and follow the simple instructions

only an aed can restart a heart

that is out of rhythm

by the way this is a very aed

that saved my life

you may wonder where do i find an aed

what if you’re in that position well

they are

in many malls and schools and gyms

but in the event of a cardiac arrest

every second counts

so you need to find one right away

how do i locate one

wouldn’t it be great if i could pull out

my phone

and search for the nearest aed

i mean we can already do that with a

starbucks we can find one of those in

like two seconds

if we could do that to find the closest

aed

think about how many lives we could save

that

would be powerful

now let me tell you about our mission

my husband greg and i have a

petition on change.org to

add aed locations as a searchable

feature on smartphones

we’re working with the sudden cardiac

arrest association

to add aeds as a searchable feature

on smartphones think of how great that

would be

if i were to use my phone and say

hey siri hey google or alexa

where’s the closest aed

that would be incredible

well we are currently in discussion with

one of those

very companies to potentially make that

happen

let me give you some takeaways

first of all what should you do call

9-1-1

second start hands-only cpr

then send someone to get an aed

it’s because of an aed that i’m standing

here today

it’s because of the quick actions of

those around me

including my friend

a coach an athletic trainer

the twins and the paramedics who whisk

me to the hospital

it’s because of them that i can still be

a wife

a mother a daughter a sister

and a friend i am so thankful

to be here today with cardiac arrest

victims only one in ten survive i am so

proud to be

in that one in ten club

if we’re able to map aed locations

think about how many lives we could save

that would be awesome

thank you

you