AED, Bystanders Save Local Man's Life

channel3000.com, Madison, WI, Wed, 2009-11-04

The Powless Tennis Center in Madison is a place to hit a few balls, but when a player collapsed on Monday morning, its staff used quick-thinking to offer lifesaving skills.

"He basically collapsed, passed out," said Jason Powless, of the victim.

Powless, other staff and players grabbed the on-site AED, or automated external Defibrillator, and used it to save crucial minutes before responding firefighters could arrive and take over and help the man.

"The machine told us to clear out of the way, and you have to press a button to shock, and yeah, you get off the ground a little bit," Powless said, describing the motion of the man's body as similar to what you see in movies and on TV.

The crew of Madison Fire Department Engine 7 was first to arrive at the facility.

"It was definitely life-saving," said firefighter Mindy Dessert.

Dessert asked Powless to use the AED to administer a second shock to the downed player.

"I was at the head and what I saw as the changes in him, went from when I got there, didn't look so good," Dessert said. "I saw his eyes change and I saw that he was alive and he was talking."

Why is the AED so important? Even though firefighters arrived in just about four minutes, that's enough time to cause serious side effects, WISC-TV reported.

"Your brain needs oxygen to survive, so the longer it goes without your heart pumping oxygen to the brain, the bigger the chance of brain death," said Madison Fire Lt. David Peterson.

"We all just kind of work as a team and help each other, and it was great. Jason did a great job today," said Dessert.

Powless, however, is humble about the role that he played.

"It was more the machine and all of us working together," he said. "But to be able to talk to him on the phone this evening and know that he's doing well and that I'm going to be able to see him again, that's pretty great. Pretty neat."

Officials with the Madison Fire Department are asking local businesses, churches, athletic facilities and schools to let them know if they have an AED on-site. The locations will be recorded and passed on to the Dane County 911 Center so operators know the locations and can walk callers through using it.

To report an AED location, go to the Madison Fire Department's Web site.