For
Andy Blair, a 56-year-old Michigan man, having his life saved by an AED turned
out to be quite the family affair.
Back
in February, Blair was helping prepare for an event at his local community
center. Everything was going smoothly, and he decided to go grab himself a
slice of pizza.
The
next thing he knew, he was in an ambulance.
Blair
had suffered sudden cardiac arrest, with an emphasis on the “sudden.” He said
later that he had felt completely fine the whole day, and had even passed his
physical just a few months before.
As
far as he knew, he was in good health.
Luckily,
Blair’s son Michael saw his father collapse in the hallway, and knew exactly
what to do.
He
quickly ran and grabbed a nearby AED, and three shocks later, had gotten
his father’s heart started again.
Cardiologist
Mark Meengs, MD, said that had it not been for the AED, Andy Blair would almost
certainly be dead. In fact, he WAS dead for a couple minutes before he was
revived by his son.
But
wait, there’s more. Who was it who was responsible for having that very AED
installed just months before?
Why,
it was Cindy Blair, Andy’s wife. Little did she know that it would soon mean
the difference between life and death for her husband.
Five
bypasses later, Andy has just about fully recovered from his major scare. He
was very thankful that he was able to attend his son’s wedding a couple weeks
later.
And
yes, that’s the same son who saved his life.