Statement About the 10th Anniversary of Mary's Sudden Cardiac Arrest

July 15, 2016 will mark the 10th anniversary that my wife, Mary, suffered but survived a Sudden Cardiac Arrest. (I always like to remark that a Sudden Cardiac Arrest is not a heart attack. They can happen at the same time, but they are two separate cardiac events.)

Some people are aware that I was planning to host a "Celebration of Mary's Life" to commemorate the 10th anniversary of her survival.  We recently discussed the whole situation and, for reasons of our own, decided to cancel it.

In this blog, I want to touch on some of the points I wanted to bring up at the celebration:

1) Mary is in the "5% Club."  Only 5% of people survive a Sudden Cardiac Arrest and go on to live a normal life.

2) My thoughts at the time included, "She has to survive!  She has too much of a positive impact on too many people's lives!"  She has more than proven how right I was about that observation.  Since then, she has helped our daughters in ways that I know I could never have done by myself. She has reached out to friends and other family members and had a positive influence in their lives; I believe she has indirectly saved some of their lives too. She communicates through Inspire.com with other victims, survivors and family members of people who have had a SCA.  She has had a  major influence on the lives of some of her students at school.  She is having a huge impact on a family friend who now has a severe, debilitating condition.  I am reminded of the  movie, "It's a Wonderful Life" when I think about how much better so many of these people are just by the fact that Mary is in their lives.  And of course, I am so much better off that she is my wife.

3) I want to recognize, once again, the Emergency Responders that were a part of saving Mary's life, and all Emergency Responders in general.  These are the real heroes in our society.

4) I want to especially recognize the 911 Dispatcher, Julie, who took my call when Mary first collapsed.  While sending help on its way, Julie took control of the situation, calmed me down, and helped me begin rescue efforts until the first firemen arrived.  Julie became a special person in our lives. We were able to meet her on several occasions, and she was a surprise guest at Mary's 50th birthday party.  Sad to say, we learned later on that she suffered her own health problems and passed away not long after we saw her at Mary's party.

5) I want to recognize all the medical personnel at Park Ridge Hospital (as it was called then), and all the personnel at the various medical facilities she has visited since then.

6) And nearly ten years later, I am still thankful for all the people who camped out in Park Ridge's waiting room outside the Intensive Care Unit.  I wish Mary could have seen that.

7) Summarizing where Mary is at today, we still don't know the cause of her Sudden Cardiac Arrests. (She had another one in December, 2007)  She has been tested for all known medical reasons and nothing is conclusive.  This is why we support donations to the American Heart Association and other organizations that help fund medical research.

So, although the event I was planning is cancelled, my thoughts are still about the circumstances surrounding Mary's Sudden Cardiac Arrest, her miraculous survival, the special people in our lives, and the efforts to continue medical research.  We intend to mark the 10th anniversary on July 15, 2016 without much fanfare.

I'll leave this blog with a video of Mary in 2007, addressing Emergency Responders and other attendees of the Emergency Responders Appreciation Day.  (You will see Julie on the right side)