About four months ago, Adam Dewitt collapsed at his workplace in East Gwillimbury after having a cardiac arrest.
If not for the swift action of his co-workers and York Region Paramedic Services, Dewitt may not have been able to celebrate World Restart a Heart Day today, Oct. 16.
It was June 27, when Jonathan Colford and Steven Lopes saw that Dewitt was struggling and asked if he felt OK, but one of the signs and symptoms for cardiac arrest is denial and Dewitt told them he just needed a break.
When Colford and Lopes returned to Dewitt, they found him unresponsive and immediately took action. They called 911 and started CPR before using an automated external defibrillator or AED to get oxygen to Dewitt’s heart.
“The emotions were running high,” said Lopes. “It’s something I’ve never experienced before, and knowing he had a pulse when he left helped a lot.”
When paramedics arrived, they were able to restart and help stabilize Dewitt’s heart and got him to the hospital where he awoke a few days later.
“I only remember bits and pieces, but I don’t think the stars could be anymore aligned with what happened,” Dewitt said.
Dewitt said he had remembered seeing the AED sign before, but had never given it a second thought prior to this experience.
“It saved my life,” he said. “I’m happy and thankful for so many people. I don’t really have words.”
A global CPR and AED awareness campaign that started in 2018, World Restart a Heart Day is held across the world in an effort to bring education, encouragement, and empowerment for bystanders to react and respond to emergencies like Dewitt’s co-workers did.
“Using an AED on someone for the first time is the type of experience you’re glad you did, but hope you never have to do it again,” said Colford.
Stories like Dewitt’s are a key example as to why York Region Paramedic Services encourage all businesses to have accessible AEDs in the workplace and public locations.
“Especially after what we went through, you can only do so much as a person,” said Colford. “The amount of work that one machine can do to save someone’s life is amazing. If that machine wasn’t there, he (Dewitt) wouldn’t be here. It saves someone’s life, it doesn't matter the cost of it, a life is priceless.”
York Region Paramedic Services responds to more than 600 cardiac arrests a year and with early recognition of these emergencies — calling 911, starting CPR and AED — survival rates go up to a 74 per cent chance and putting an AED on someone within the first four minutes of a cardiac emergency provides them with the best chance of survival.
In Canada, the Number 1 leading cause of death is sudden cardiac arrest and an AED is able to analyze a heart rhythm and deliver an electric shock for those suffering cardiac arrest.
Learn more about World Restart a Heart Day here.
