My neighbor Mike Hoffman is in his mid 50’s, 6’ 2” tall and weighs 220 lbs., and an active tennis player. Get the picture? A hale, hearty and handsome young retiree. In his own words, this is the story of an incident that happened to him on April 3d:
“While playing tennis in the finals of the Grand Slam League Division Championship at Boca Pointe Athletic Club, well into the second hour of the match, I experienced a tingling in my feet and then rapidly shooting up through my body as I was awaiting the victorious completion of a second set tie-breaker. The only thing I was to complete on that day was passing out unconscious, and as was explained to me later, my heart stopped. I had to receive four jolts of electricity via a defibrillator in order to restore my heartbeat as well as my breathing. If it were not for a certified trained employee of the athletic center, I would not be here writing this story. Quite simply, this young lady, who additionally administered CPR techniques along with the ‘defib’, saved my life!”
Mike’s experience demonstrates that every community needs to have a trained certified defibrillator staff in order to save a life.
He continues: “I feel compelled to share this with you because I was very lucky. You however may not be. Emergency medical response teams took over 20 minutes to reach me. Guess what? Too Late! I personally challenge community members throughout the county to get involved. Support a defibrillator training program in your community. It could happen to you.”
To learn more about defibrillator and CPR training go to the following Red Cross site: http://www.redcross-pbc.org/NETCOMMUNITY/Page.aspx?pid=291&srcid=301