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