For a person in cardiac arrest, each minute means 7-10 percent less chance of revival.
When Alice Keller of Birmingham suffered a heart attack, help came within seconds.
Independence Township Fire Department awarded residents Kim Arcobello, Judy Hoddinott, Greg Poulin, Loriann Dickerson, and Becky Laney for their life-saving response at a Feb. 26 ceremony.
Keller said she will be ‘eternally grateful,? to those who worked to save her life, so that she could return home to her daughters Ann, 17, and Megan, 15, and to her husband of 22 years, Mark.
‘I felt a special bond, I feel like I’m their little project that did well,? she said. ‘It’s just really neat to meet them (at the awards ceremony) and for them to see my girls.?
On the morning of Oct. 26, 2007, Keller was playing tennis at Deer Lake Racquet Club in one of her first matches after surgery to repair a heart valve. During the game, Keller collapsed on the floor and went into cardiac arrest.
Arcobello, personal trainer at the club, was playing tennis a couple courts over and saw Keller fall to the ground.
‘When I heard someone say ‘call 911 she has a heart condition,? I ran and grabbed the AED (Automated External Defibrillator), just to have it,? she said.
Arcobello said she found Keller unresponsive in her partner’s lap, so she and her friend, Laney, started to administer CPR. Poulin, a lifeguard at the club, and registered nurse Judy Hoddinott, who had been in the workout room, arrived to take over CPR as well as administer a shock from the defibrillator.
‘We all stayed calm and just tried to do everything that we could do, within our power to do,? said Arcobello. ‘I think it all worked out and I think that the right people were in the right place at the right time.?
Within three minutes, Independence Township Fire Department EMS arrived on the scene.
‘Time is so much in the essence in these situations,? said Bob Cesario, EMS coordinator. ‘Sometimes seconds and minutes make a huge difference.?
Cesario said arriving in three minutes was atypical.
‘Sometimes it takes a few minutes for us generally to receive the alarm and look up the addresses and all that stuff,? he said. ‘Because it was a familiar place, we had just pulled into the station from another call, so it wasn’t even an issue of getting to the trucks. We were able to pull out immediately and respond.?
Quick response is critical to the American Heart Association’s ‘chain of survival,? said Cesario.
The chain includes four elements: early recognition, early call for help, early CPR with defibrillation, and early EMS.
‘Those four elements have completely to do with those first 5-10 minutes. If one of those links is removed, than the odds of survival drop off dramatically, to the point where most of these people die,? he said. ‘Had these people not acted the way they did and respond the way they did, we might not have had the chance to make a difference in Alice’s life.?
Hoddinott said she was very impressed by Independence Township EMS.
‘The paramedics were kind, quiet, quick and effective, so they didn’t horriblize the situation, they just moved quickly, we all got out of the way, they got in there, and got her out, which is what you need to do.?
Keller later found out a blockage in one of her arteries led to the cardiac arrest. In he r20s, she was told she had a heart murmur. In her 30’s, doctors listened to her heart, but she never went to a cardiologist. Two years ago, doctors realized things had gotten worse and surgery was needed.
‘They know now that it’s better to operate when you’re healthy, than to let it progress until you’re really not well,? she said. ‘They want to get in there and do it sooner than later.?
Keller is going through Cardiac rehab, but hopes to get back to skiing in the winter and tennis when it’s warmer. She said it’s a matter of learning what’s good for her heart and how much stress her heart can take. She also has an internal defibrillator now in case something happens again.
‘I think everyone that was involved reacted and responded great. I think we did everything we could to help her and it was a team effort basically,? said Poulin. ‘It was a bad situation, but we all took something good out of it, we all had experience working with her, but I am just glad she’s ok and now she’s doing well.?
Even as Keller begins to feel more normal everyday, when she looks back at the situation, she finds it to be ‘humbling,? she said.
‘It’s amazing to see someone so close to death and then you do something to intervene that allows them to stay alive, it’s a wonderful thing,? said Keller. ‘I feel like life is precious that’s for sure. You don’t know what your futures going to hold, so you’ve just got to love the time you’re in.?