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Second Chance at Life
Sudden cardiac arrest strikes more than 300,000 Americans each year.
Normal heart rhythm stops victims lose consciousness and stop breathing.
In the vast majority of cases, the victim dies. In fact, cardiac arrest
kills more people each year than either auto accidents or all forms of
cancer. Cardiopulminary rescuscitation (CPR) helps, but it is most
effective when paired with rapid defibrillation. Only defibrillation can
restore normal heart rhythm.
Leroy Hubler from
Fairfield, New Jersey suffered cardiac arrest while on a ski trip to
Shawnee Mountain Ski Area last February 15th. Leroy was
chaperoning a group from the Fairfield Recreation Ski Club of which his
thirteen year- old son, Justin, is a member. Leroy had just completed a
run and had stopped in the lodge for a drink of water. Suddenly, he
collapsed.
Lucky for Leroy, one of
Shawnee’s staff witnessed the incident and called for help. Within a
minute, CPR was started and a call went out for Shawnee’s automated
external defibrillator (AED). The AED was attached after it was determined
that Leroy was unconscious, not breathing and had no pulse. He was shocked
three times, a minute of CPR was performed, shocked three more times
followed by another minute of CPR, and shocked again. After the seventh
shock from the AED, he began breathing on his own. He was transported by
ambulance to Pocono Medical Center. Subsequently, he was flown to St.
Luke’s hospital in Bethlehem. Eleven days later, he walked out of the
hospital under his own power.
Leroy was fortunate in a
number of ways. Shawnee Mountain had purchased its AED just weeks earlier
through the Gregory W. Moyer Defibrillator Fund. Many full-time Shawnee
Mountain staff and ski patrol personnel took the four-hour course to learn
to use it. Seven different people contributed to Leroy’s survival: Jason
Field, Dave Steglik, Davin Bridges, Phil Howenstine, John Meegan, Barbara
Fredericks, and Ridgely Werkheiser.
On Saturday, October 26,
2002, Leroy visited Shawnee Mountain to present a plaque to and thank
those who were instrumental in saving his life. Having a defibrillator on
hand in the event of an emergency is important but the AED is of no value
without people who recognize the signs of cardiac arrest and take steps to
treat it. Leroy owes his life to seven people who had the courage and
foresight to start CPR and use the AED.
Leroy doesn’t remember a
thing about the night of February 15th. In fact, he doesn’t
even remember his eleven days in the hospital. The few details he can
provide have been garnered from people who were around him that fateful
Friday. He told one of his coworkers earlier that day that he didn’t feel
well but that he was going to go skiing anyway because, “Shawnee Mountain
has a defibrillator”. His coworker laughed off his statement with the
suggestion that a Rolaid or two would probably solve his problem. Leroy
and Justin usually skied together, but somehow they became separated.
Leroy went into the lodge to wait for his son. If he had waited at their
normal meeting place farther away from trained help, the results may not
have been so positive.
Leroy was accompanied on
Saturday by Justin, his wife, Carol, and their nineteen year-old daughter,
Jennifer. In his remarks, he thanked Shawnee Mountain for providing the
defibrillator and his rescuers by saying, “Without you guys, there is no
way that I would be alive tonight”. This sentiment is echoed by his
cardiologist who terms his survival and recovery, “Miraculous and
amazing”. Leroy has qualified for an internal cardio defibrillator, a
small device that is implanted in his chest to provide a life-saving shock
in the event of cardiac arrhythmia. Leroy’s ICD has not shocked him yet,
but he views it as a good insurance policy against further cardiac
problems. Like most skiers, Leroy is looking forward to abundant snow over
the next few months because he can’t wait to get back on the slopes.
AEDs are laptop
computer-sized, self-contained medical devices that allow rescuers who
have completed a four-hour course to administer a therapeutic shock to
victims of cardiac arrest. They are completely safe in that a shock cannot
be administered unless the AED senses abnormal heart rhythms. AEDs are
becoming commonplace in shopping malls, airports, restaurants, and public
buildings.
More than 125 AEDs have
already been placed throughout Monroe County in schools, churches, fire
departments, resorts, and other businesses. The goals of the Gregory W.
Moyer Defibrillator Fund are to donate AEDs to schools and other places of
public gathering; alert the general public to the risk, symptoms and
treatment of cardiac arrest; and train lay rescuers in the skills of adult
CPR and the use of AEDs. Many businesses throughout the region have
purchased AEDs at discounted prices through the Fund.
Picture Caption
Leroy Hubler (third from left) presents a
plaque to five of the seven people who treated him for cardiac arrest at
Shawnee Mountain Ski Area. From right, Jason Field, Dave Steglik, Davin
Bridges, Hubler, Phil Howenstine, and John Meegan
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