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SCA Survivor Now Works To Bring AEDs To Public Buildings
THE GATEWAY CHAPTER OF THE SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST ASSOCIATION (SCAA) gathered recently at the Red Cross St. Louis headquarters. At lower right is Linda Dickson, a SCA survivor. The chapter currently has ten members.
LIFE SAVERS: Diane Williams and Dana Heisserer were honored by Linda Dickson as her heroes. Their quick response when Dickson had a Sudden Cardiac Arrest saved her life.
BY CAROL ARNETT
Only 7 percent of people who have a sudden cardiac arrest survive. Linda Dickson of Florissant is in that lucky percentage, and she wants to increase the odds for others.
In March, 2007, Dickson was having an average day. She had a Ladies Guild Board meeting at Sacred Heart Church that night, and she thought about skipping it because she had a headache. However, Catholic Schools Week had recently occurred, and as a member of the Home and School Committee, she had helped organize the week and wanted to report to the board.
The last thing Dickson remembers is sitting down and getting ready for the meeting. Suddenly, the other women saw her pass out. Two board members, Diane Williams and Dana Heisserer, both nurses, rushed to her aid. The two nurses performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) until an ambulance arrived.
“I was so lucky to have two nurses there,” Dickson says now. “They truly are my heroes.” The ambulance took seven minutes to arrive. When it did, technicians used the defibrillator on board to shock Dickson’s heart. They then rushed her to the hospital.
Dickson spent five days at St. John’s Hospital, while doctors tried to determine what caused her SCA. They determined that she had an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a virus.
An SCA differs from a heart attack. In an SCA, all electrical activity in the heart stops, and the heart immediately stops beating. In a heart attack, a clogged or narrowed artery slows the flow of blood to the heart, but does not always stop it. Often, the symptoms of a heart attack alert the victim to get help before the heart stops.
Dickson has made a complete recovery. She has an implanted defibrillator as a preventative measure, but her heart is working at full capacity and she suffers no after effects.
Dickson said that she had a hard time reliving and talking about the night of her SCA for a long time. She wondered why she survived when so few did. Then she went to a meeting organized by the American Red Cross for other SCA survivors, and they decided to start the Gateway chapter of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association (SCAA). The chapter has ten members. One goal of the SCAA is to place Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public buildings.
Dickson said as she sat at the meeting, she realized that she could help. “Since my SCA, I’ve had three more anniversaries with my husband, I’ve seen my daughters make their first communions, I’ve welcomed by first niece and nephew,” she said. But she realizes that most people don’t survive an SCA. She became the chair of the Gateway SCAA chapter, and now she is leading efforts to put AEDs in all public buildings.
“What better gift than to save a life?” she asks. Dickson likens the devices to the other safety devices in buildings, such as sprinkler systems and smoke detectors.
Dickson said the AEDs are easy to use. CPR classes cover how to use one, but even if a person hasn’t had CPR classes, they should be able to use the AED. “It does it all,” she said, “it analyzes the heart and tells you what to do with voice prompts.” Furthermore, she added, “it will only shock when it needs to.”
The SCAA would like to see AEDs in all public buildings, including schools, churches, fitness centers, and anywhere people gather. Each AED costs $1500. One of the Gateway SCAA chapter’s goals, Dickson said, is to raise money, as well as awareness. “I can’t wait to say that we placed an AED that saved someone’s life,” she said.
Dickson is starting with Sacred Heart. She is working with the parish to determine the best location for AEDs and get them installed.
Dickson said she realizes how fortunate she was on that night in 2007.. “It makes you thankful for all the little things in your life.”
And now, she says, due to her work with the SCAA on educating people about the need for AEDs, “out of something really scary, some good things are happening.”
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