Dawn Blake- Andover, MN- 32 years old at time of cardiac arrest (2006)
Dawn is a 36 year old mother of two from Andover, MN. Two days before her 33rd birthday, Dawn came home from work, ate dinner and went to bed as if it were any other day. Around midnight that night she woke up with an uncomfortable back pain and had trouble falling back asleep. She told her husband, Mike, that she was going to go downstairs and lie on the couch because she was not feeling well. About 20 minutes later, Mike heard a noise and came downstairs to investigate. He approached her to ask about the noise and found her unresponsive. Dawn had gone into cardiac arrest. Mike, who is an EMT, administered CPR and called 911. Within 3 minutes the Sheriff’s Department shocked Dawn’s heart with an AED. About 2 minutes later the paramedics arrived and continued CPR with the ResQPOD for about 35 minutes, and shocked her heart a total of five times. Dawn was then stabilized and brought to the hospital. Mike Blake, being a seasoned EMT, did not expect Dawn to wake up; however, as he was coming down the hall of the ICU he heard Dawn talking to her mother and could not believe it.
Today Dawn is doing great and she looks forward to the opportunity of watching her children grow up.