A Real "Good Friday"

Last Friday, Mr. Joseph Smith, an average middle-class suburban grandfather, was shopping at the local grocery store for a stuffed rabbit for his granddaughter's Easter gift. All of a sudden, Mr. Smith collapsed to the floor, flipping over the shopping cart, which his granddaughter was sitting in. As he lay on the floor, blue and lifeless, his 2-year-old cried, "Pop-Pop died!"

In comes the hero, Michael McDonald, the store manager.

McDonald, trained in basic life support "ripped back Smith's shirt, [applied the automated external defibrillator (AED)] then shocked his heart until it started beating." Subsequently, Mr. Smith was brought to the local hospital and stabilized. He is currently awake, doing well, and discussing his passion, the NY Mets.

Could there be a better example of why it is so important to have people trained in basic life support? Not just lifeguards, EMTs, nurses, and physicians...but everybody. Not too long ago, people like Mr Smith would not have received life-saving defibrillation. Why? Because AEDs were never installed in supermarkets. Like the national campaign for seat belt enforcement in cars, the push to place AEDs in public places certainly is a benefit to society.

For Mr Smith and his family, this weekend was a celebration of two resurrections.

For more details, you can read the article by Julie O'Connor