First Aid Corps

Sam Hungerbuhler, of Cumming, was attending a basketball game for his stepson at Queen of Angels Catholic School in Roswell when the players started going to the ceiling.

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At least that’s what Hungerbuhler, 42, thought was happening.

Sam Hungerbuhler the Survivor

“I was sitting there watching the kids going to the ceiling, but at the same time I was like ‘Why are the kids going to the ceiling?’”

That was Hungerbuhler, 5-foot-5-inches tall and 160 pounds, passing out from a heart attack.

Hungerbuhler, a respiratory therapist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Scottish Rite, was in luck.

His wife, Trish, is a nurse at Children’s and knew that Queen of Angels is equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED) machine that tells users how many shocks are needed while medics are dispatched.

The game stopped, and game attendees stood around the edge of the basketball court saying prayers.

Another nurse helped with CPR — Cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“She was doing the compressions and my wife was doing the mouth-to-mouth,” Hungerbuhler said.

The nurse’s husband, an anesthesiologist, held his jaw open.

“After the shock, the machine said keep doing the compression,” said Hungerbuhler. “The machine told them what they needed to be doing.”

Queen of Angels nurses Robin Spinner and Rae Ann Gruver were responsible for ensuring the AED batteries and pads were updated regularly.

“These roles are typical, crucial ones played by school nurses,” said Sheila Vahey, Johns Creek Cluster Nurse for Fulton County Schools. “If the AED is not properly maintained, it won’t work in an emergency when a life is on the line.”

Hungerbuhler is grateful to have had a heart attack at a school equipped with life-saving gear. Hungerbuhler’s right coronary artery had been completely blocked. He said he knew his family has a history of heart attacks, but he never thought it would happen to him.

“I never had chest pains, I was in good shape, I exercised and didn’t think it would happen to me,” he said.

All the physicians and nurses who treated him said he was “lucky.”

In the New Year, Hungerbuhler has a fresh outlook on life.

“Being more positive and encouraging other people not to put it away like I did,” he said. “Pay attention to your body, especially if you have a family history.”

His friends have listened and have gone to get checked out.

“I feel great. I guess when you’re used to living with it and it happens over time, you don’t notice it,” Hungerbuhler said. “Now I feel more awake and more aware.”

Quick thinking, the availability of an Automatic External Defibrillator machine, and assistance from several community members are being credited for saving the life of a Weed man who collapsed last week at a Siskiyou Land Trust fundraiser.

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The approximately 100 people who showed up at the Mount Shasta Resort for a slideshow about New Zealand last Wednesday got much more than they bargained for when 83 year old Erv Gross had a heart attack and collapsed to the floor.

“Thank God for the doctors, the defibrillator and the prayers surrounding me,” said 83 year old Erv Gross from his home on Monday, where he’s now doing just fine. “I’ll be forever grateful… and I can’t talk much longer or I’ll start to cry.”

When Gross went down in the crowded room, just as he arrived a few minutes before the presentation began, Peter Mt. Shasta, who was standing nearby, thought he’d banged his head.

“I tried to talk to him, but when he didn’t respond I put my hand on his heart and felt there was no beat and that he had stopped breathing,” Mt. Shasta said.

Doctors Jim Parker and Alan Cohn rushed over and immediately began CPR.

Mount Shasta’s Raven Stevens, who was standing directly behind Gross when he fell, immediately called 911.

Several other people with emergency training and cool heads were also present, including Lon Fitton, who took over chest compressions for Parker when he became exhausted, Neil Posson, Carol Winston, and Rick Demarest.

Demarest said Parker looked up at one point to ask if there was a defibrillator in the house, and he and Stevens went to find one.

“I ran to the front desk to ask if they had a defibrillator, and they did,” Stevens said. She quickly ran back upstairs with the device.

The machine had its own verbal instructions on how to get it working and talked the group through all the steps. After it was charged and Parker got the paddles on, they pressed the button.

“He had no pulse. He wasn’t breathing and was turning blue,” Parker said. “This man was very fortunate to get nearly immediate CPR and shortly thereafter the benefit of the defibrillator.”

Parker said after Gross was shocked with the defibrillator, his heart began beating again on its own, but he still wasn’t breathing. A short while later, he began gasping and his color returned.

A few minutes after Gross began breathing, Parker said emergency crews arrived from the Mount Shasta Fire Protection District and Mt. Shasta Ambulance.

He was taken to Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta and then to Mercy Redding.

Cohn said he was glad he could be helpful in such an intense situation.

“I was aware that this was a life and death situation, but at the same time I knew I was doing what I could to help,” he said.

“As a physician, whenever you hear ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ you have to respond… I’m just glad there were a lot of people there to help,” said Parker.

Both doctors believe the defibrillator saved Gross’s life.

“Two weeks ago, I’d have bet anything I would never have a heart attack,” said Gross, who owns American Stor-n-loc in Weed and has been a Siskiyou County resident since 1979. “I’m an average weight and I eat healthy; I just can’t believe it.”

Parker said he was so impressed with the AED and its detailed instructions, he is looking into purchasing one for his own office. He praised the crowd for its quick thinking and the response of the emergency responders.

Gross will celebrate his 84th birthday next month.

An Arizona man leaves Dallas in good health thanks to the quick actions of a friend, an automated external defibrillator and fast-acting firefighters.

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Roy Tousley collapsed at Galleria Dallas on Oct. 27. In a matter of minutes, his friend had started CPR.

A doctor walking by intervened next and began compressions.

Mall security then arrived and gave him two shocks with an AED, but Tousley was still in danger.

Dallas Fire-Rescue Engine 20 was first on the scene and took over, continuing CPR and using the defibrillator. By the time firefighters got Tousley to Medical City Dallas he was breathing on his own and stable.

“This is an awesome outcome, we’re very happy to see it. We don’t get to see it enough,” said Jay Prigmore the driver, engineer and paramedic for Engine 20.

Tousley and his wife stopped by the fire house on Wednesday to say thank you to rescuers.

“I came to the fire station to give my very best to these gentlemen that saved my life,” said Tousley.

“We need to get defibrillators in every public place that we can,” said Myrna Tousley. “We need everybody to take a CPR course, that’s crucial.”

Republican Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) may have saved a life Tuesday morning by performing CPR on a man who collapsed in a Charlotte, N.C., airport.

Phil Roe the Saviour

Roe, who was a practicing OB/GYN before he was elected to Congress, was walking through the airport with fellow Congressman Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) when someone cried out about a man who had collapsed.

Roe immediately rushed over and began performing CPR in an attempt to save the man’s life. By the time Roe reached him, the man did not have a heartbeat.

The congressman “brought the man back to life — he was dead. The AED [automatic external defibrillator] machine showed that he was flat-lining,” Roe’s press secretary, Amanda Little, told POLITICO.

CPR was not successful in resuscitating the man, so when emergency medical technicians arrived shortly after, Roe assisted them with the emergency defibrillator, which shocked the man back to life, added Little.

The man who collapsed is currently in stable condition, according to Roe’s office. “We checked in this morning, and last we heard this morning, the man was going to be OK,” said Little.

Roe’s quick actions very likely saved the man’s life, said Mulvaney, who was present at the scene the whole time. “This guy is alive because of Phil Roe and a couple other very important people at the airport,” Mulvaney told the DC.

For his part, Roe was humble and commended local emergency officials. “I really want to praise the police officers there and the EMTs,” he told the DC. “They did a great job. I’m just glad I’m around and able to help.”

Roe said that this morning’s incident was his first time using a portable defibrillator.

A race for one high school athlete turned into a fight for life.

Sam Shafer & Bob Wright the Saviours

A 17-year-old Decorah cross country runner collapsed Thursday evening while running in the Rich Engel Cross Country Classic at Birdsall Park in Cedar Falls. A spectator at the event, Dr. Greg Hoekstra, administered CPR until Cedar Falls police officer Sam Shafer and reserve officer Bob Wright arrived on the scene. The officers had an automated external defibrillator and administered a shock to jump-start the teen’s heart.

He was taken to Sartori Memorial Hospital.

Sartori personnel called the on-scene response a “textbook save” and noted that CPR alone most likely would not have saved the teen’s life.

Adam Riley, activities director for Decorah High School, said the student is doing well but was still in Cedar Falls for testing as of Friday afternoon.

“We’re very appreciative of the efforts of the Cedar Falls Police Department and Sartori hospital,” Riley said Friday. “We very easily could have lost a student yesterday.”

Cedar Falls police have been carrying the defibrillators in each squad car for about eight years. Each officer is recertified to use the device each year.

“Frequently, we’re on the scene before ambulances and paramedics, so you have to do what you can,” said Police Chief Jeff Olson. “We’re just thrilled when we can do something like this to help.”