Rex Veeder- St. Cloud, Minnesota- 60 years old at time of cardiac arrest. (2007)
Rex has been an educator for the majority of his professional life. He enjoys writing poetry and painting, and enjoys combining the two. When he finishes a painting he will often write a poem over the painting to create a unique work of art.
On June 28, 2007, Rex came home from visiting friends with his wife, Marcia. He told her that he was feeling unusually tired, and that he had never felt this tired in the past. Rex went straight to bed.
While he was in bed, Marcia saw that Rex was turning blue. Rex had suffered a cardiac arrest and, with his heart no longer beating, his body was taking its final, gasping breaths. Marcia immediately began CPR and continued until paramedics arrived.
Rex was rushed to St. Cloud Hospital, where his body was cooled to about 91° F, which doctors have found can prevent swelling of the brain. Cooling is one of the therapies that has been incorporated into the “Take Heart America” program (www.takeheartamerica.org) that Rex was fortunate to be part of. Fortunate because, in less than 2 weeks, Rex made a full neurological recovery and was ready to go back to work.
Today Rex is the Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Central Lake College in Brainerd, Minnesota. He maintains a healthy lifestyle for the body and mind by doing daily exercises, reading, painting and writing poetry. He looks forward to family reunions and some upcoming 80th birthdays within the family.
Rex, who has five children and four grandchildren says, “I was profoundly moved by the care I was given by my doctors. I have a great reverence for their profession.”
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.
MISSION
To prevent the loss of life from Sudden Cardiac Arrest through implementation of the four Take Heart St. Cloud initiatives to provide SCA advocacy and awareness; to provide support to people affected by SCA.
VALUES
FRIENDSHIP
We believe that people who have survived SCA can find comfort, encouragement, and motivation from getting to know others who have had the same experience.
COMPASSION
We are passionately committed to serving the needs of all people who have experienced SCA or have the potential to become victims of SCA, and their loved ones.
COLLABORATION
We believe that we can be most effective by having survivors and ambassadors work side-by-side. We also seek meaningful and productive partnerships with other organizations.
EMPOWERMENT
We believe that networking and shared awareness of advocacy work empowers survivors to tell their stories and educate others about SCA and the need for better prevention and treatment.
RESPONSIBILITY
We will strive to create plans that are quantifiable and measurable, and we will frequently and openly share our progress with our members and stakeholders.
VISION
To live in a world where:
- all people recognize SCA, know how to respond, and have access to appropriate and effective care
- emergency medical services and in-hospital medical care is available in a timely and integrated manner and
- all survivors of SCA get the support they need and encouragement to become advocates for the cause.
Click here to learn about our goals and the strategies and tactics we are taking to accomplish those goals.
