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PITTSBURGH--Sue Hostler arrived at the Philadelphia
International Airport on August 22 to catch a flight home to
Pittsburgh. As a business traveler, she knew her way around the
airport and ran to get on an elevator in a remote area of the F
terminal. A young man entered the elevator just before her, but
the doors closed before she could join him. When she hit the “up”
button and the doors reopened, she was stunned by what she saw.
There he was, face down, not moving. Sue reached for her cell
phone to call 9-1-1. It was 3:04 pm.
The dispatcher asked if the man was breathing. “No,” Sue
answered, adding that he was unconscious. Sue asked if she should
start CPR and the dispatcher said, “Yes.” As Sue put her phone on
speaker mode, Vivian Nolan, from Unadilla, NY came by and
offered to help. Working together, the two women turned the
young man over. He was well-dressed, and appeared fit—not
someone you would ever expect to go into cardiac arrest.
Sue immediately started CPR, a lifesaving technique she had
learned long ago. She was going to start mouth-to-mouth
breathing, but remembered she had heard that continuous chest
compressions—or “hands only CPR,” without artificial
respirations—can be just as beneficial. Following the dispatcher’s
guidance, she began chest compressions. Pushing hard and fast on
the center of the chest was exhausting and Sue was getting out of
breath. She kept giving rhythmic compressions, waiting for
professional help to arrive and repeatedly giving instructions to the
dispatcher regarding the precise location of the incident that was
unfolding. Every now and then, she thought she heard the young
man gasp—but he wasn’t breathing on his own. It was abnormal
breathing, known as agonal respirations, that often heralds death.
Meanwhile, Vivian kept onlookers at bay, staking out a post near
the curb to guide emergency personnel to the scene. “I kept
looking for the police or EMTs and asking people to use the stairs
since there was a medical emergency in the elevator,” she said.
During this time, about a dozen people passed by—not one offered
to help. All Vivian could think was “God, what is taking them so
long? Shouldn’t someone have noticed the elevator wasn’t going
anywhere? Shouldn’t there be a number by the elevator that could
be easily identified by security?” After “what seemed like
forever,” a police officer arrived and asked how he could help.
With that, Sue realized that she was still the young man’s best
hope. “I kept calm, but I was getting frustrated. I raised my voice
and said, ‘Get the EMTs here now or this man is going to die!’”
An emergency medical crew finally arrived at 3:21 pm, exactly 17
minutes after Sue placed the 9-1-1 call. She estimates that she
provided CPR for at least 15 of those critical minutes. One of the
EMTs grabbed an AED and Vivian led them to the elevator. The
EMTs shocked the victim twice before getting him on the gurney.
As the ambulance pulled away, Sue and Vivian—complete
strangers with a bond—shared an emotional hug.
Sue gave her contact information to the EMTs. The next day, she
heard from the man’s mother, Mary Hallinan. Her son, Robert
“Bob” Hallinan, a 25-year-old with no known health issues, was
alive and on life-support. The day Bob nearly died was his Mom’s
birthday. He had sent her a Facebook message just minutes before
he collapsed!
In the weeks following the cardiac event, Bob underwent mild
therapeutic hypothermia and was in a medically induced coma for
five or six days. His doctor recommended that he receive an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to protect him from
future life-threatening events. On September 5, 14 days after he
suffered cardiac arrest, Bob was discharged home from the
hospital, neurologically intact. “He’s eating and texting,” said
Mary. “Things are getting back to normal.”
It was disturbing to Sue that the 9-1-1 operator could not identify
their location, despite exact instructions. “I later discovered there
are about 100 AEDs at the airport. If the dispatcher had told me
where the closest one was, I could have asked someone to retrieve
it while I continued compressions.” As for the people who passed
by without offering to help, perhaps they did not realize what was
happening, perhaps they were anxious about catching a flight, or
perhaps they were just plain scared. Unfortunately, no one thought
to look for a public access defibrillator and bring it back to the
scene. “
Sue and Vivian hope their experience will help raise awareness
about the fact that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of
any age at any time—and it’s up to the public to make a difference
in saving more lives. First and foremost, they say, learn CPR and
how to use an AED. “In all honesty, CPR is something everyone
should know,” said Vivian. Next, they say, if you should ever
encounter someone in cardiac arrest, just do something. “Don’t be
afraid to try CPR. When someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest,
let’s face it: they’re dead. Your actions can only help. So do
something!” said Sue. Even if you don’t actually care for the
patient, you can still help, said Sue. “You may not feel
comfortable doing CPR, but you can call 9-1-1, you can run for the
AED, you can flag down emergency responders, you can keep
people who just want to watch out of the way. All these actions are
just as important as giving CPR.” Deciding to help was the only
option Sue ever considered. “I knew that the young man would die
if I did nothing.”
Sue also has a message for communities and government agencies.
First, she says, “AEDs should be everywhere.” Second, labels
warning that AEDs are “for use by trained personnel only” should
be removed, she said. Third, the public should be reassured that
immediate bystander intervention in cardiac emergencies is
essential, and further, that good faith efforts to help are protected
by Good Samaritan legislation.
Sue has been asked if she thinks of herself as a hero. “Absolutely
not,” she says. “Heroes are people who risk their lives for others—
people like the 9-11 first responders. The only thing I risked that
day was missing my flight.” So…about that flight. The passengers
heading to Sue’s destination had boarded, but due to a sudden
thunderstorm, the flight was delayed. As a result, Sue was able to
make her flight after all. And as she approached her destination,
she was greeted by a giant rainbow.
-By Mary M. Newman, MS, SOURCE: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation
PITTSBURGH--Sue Hostler arrived at the Philadelphia
International Airport on August 22 to catch a flight home to
Pittsburgh. As a business traveler, she knew her way around the
airport and ran to get on an elevator in a remote area of the F
terminal. A young man entered the elevator just before her, but
the doors closed before she could join him. When she hit the “up”
button and the doors reopened, she was stunned by what she saw.
There he was, face down, not moving. Sue reached for her cell
phone to call 9-1-1. It was 3:04 pm.
The dispatcher asked if the man was breathing. “No,” Sue
answered, adding that he was unconscious. Sue asked if she should
start CPR and the dispatcher said, “Yes.” As Sue put her phone on
speaker mode, Vivian Nolan, from Unadilla, NY came by and
offered to help. Working together, the two women turned the
young man over. He was well-dressed, and appeared fit—not
someone you would ever expect to go into cardiac arrest.
Sue immediately started CPR, a lifesaving technique she had
learned long ago. She was going to start mouth-to-mouth
breathing, but remembered she had heard that continuous chest
compressions—or “hands only CPR,” without artificial
respirations—can be just as beneficial. Following the dispatcher’s
guidance, she began chest compressions. Pushing hard and fast on
the center of the chest was exhausting and Sue was getting out of
breath. She kept giving rhythmic compressions, waiting for
professional help to arrive and repeatedly giving instructions to the
dispatcher regarding the precise location of the incident that was
unfolding. Every now and then, she thought she heard the young
man gasp—but he wasn’t breathing on his own. It was abnormal
breathing, known as agonal respirations, that often heralds death.
Meanwhile, Vivian kept onlookers at bay, staking out a post near
the curb to guide emergency personnel to the scene. “I kept
looking for the police or EMTs and asking people to use the stairs
since there was a medical emergency in the elevator,” she said.
During this time, about a dozen people passed by—not one offered
to help. All Vivian could think was “God, what is taking them so
long? Shouldn’t someone have noticed the elevator wasn’t going
anywhere? Shouldn’t there be a number by the elevator that could
be easily identified by security?” After “what seemed like
forever,” a police officer arrived and asked how he could help.
With that, Sue realized that she was still the young man’s best
hope. “I kept calm, but I was getting frustrated. I raised my voice
and said, ‘Get the EMTs here now or this man is going to die!’”
An emergency medical crew finally arrived at 3:21 pm, exactly 17
minutes after Sue placed the 9-1-1 call. She estimates that she
provided CPR for at least 15 of those critical minutes. One of the
EMTs grabbed an AED and Vivian led them to the elevator. The
EMTs shocked the victim twice before getting him on the gurney.
As the ambulance pulled away, Sue and Vivian—complete
strangers with a bond—shared an emotional hug.
Sue gave her contact information to the EMTs. The next day, she
heard from the man’s mother, Mary Hallinan. Her son, Robert
“Bob” Hallinan, a 25-year-old with no known health issues, was
alive and on life-support. The day Bob nearly died was his Mom’s
birthday. He had sent her a Facebook message just minutes before
he collapsed!
In the weeks following the cardiac event, Bob underwent mild
therapeutic hypothermia and was in a medically induced coma for
five or six days. His doctor recommended that he receive an
implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to protect him from
future life-threatening events. On September 5, 14 days after he
suffered cardiac arrest, Bob was discharged home from the
hospital, neurologically intact. “He’s eating and texting,” said
Mary. “Things are getting back to normal.”
It was disturbing to Sue that the 9-1-1 operator could not identify
their location, despite exact instructions. “I later discovered there
are about 100 AEDs at the airport. If the dispatcher had told me
where the closest one was, I could have asked someone to retrieve
it while I continued compressions.” As for the people who passed
by without offering to help, perhaps they did not realize what was
happening, perhaps they were anxious about catching a flight, or
perhaps they were just plain scared. Unfortunately, no one thought
to look for a public access defibrillator and bring it back to the
scene. “
Sue and Vivian hope their experience will help raise awareness
about the fact that sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone of
any age at any time—and it’s up to the public to make a difference
in saving more lives. First and foremost, they say, learn CPR and
how to use an AED. “In all honesty, CPR is something everyone
should know,” said Vivian. Next, they say, if you should ever
encounter someone in cardiac arrest, just do something. “Don’t be
afraid to try CPR. When someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest,
let’s face it: they’re dead. Your actions can only help. So do
something!” said Sue. Even if you don’t actually care for the
patient, you can still help, said Sue. “You may not feel
comfortable doing CPR, but you can call 9-1-1, you can run for the
AED, you can flag down emergency responders, you can keep
people who just want to watch out of the way. All these actions are
just as important as giving CPR.” Deciding to help was the only
option Sue ever considered. “I knew that the young man would die
if I did nothing.”
Sue also has a message for communities and government agencies.
First, she says, “AEDs should be everywhere.” Second, labels
warning that AEDs are “for use by trained personnel only” should
be removed, she said. Third, the public should be reassured that
immediate bystander intervention in cardiac emergencies is
essential, and further, that good faith efforts to help are protected
by Good Samaritan legislation.
Sue has been asked if she thinks of herself as a hero. “Absolutely
not,” she says. “Heroes are people who risk their lives for others—
people like the 9-11 first responders. The only thing I risked that
day was missing my flight.” So…about that flight. The passengers
heading to Sue’s destination had boarded, but due to a sudden
thunderstorm, the flight was delayed. As a result, Sue was able to
make her flight after all. And as she approached her destination,
she was greeted by a giant rainbow.
-By Mary M. Newman, MS, SOURCE: Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation
