Pa. Man Alive Thanks to AED, Quick 9-1-1 Response

Jan. 20--There are things that circle through Gary Boone's mind as he lounges in the recliner where you can usually find him inside his Spring Township home.

The 69-year-old is homebound these days, only leaving his home for the doctor's appointments that his wife meticulously tracks in a planner.

All that time at home has given him a chance to think about the people who helped at the moment he needed it the most.

"A miracle is what I call it," he said. "Thank goodness for 9-1-1. Thank goodness for defibrillators."

Gary's family -- his wife, Patti; daughter, Rachel; and son, Jason -- has been careful to tell Gary the details of his survival in small increments for fear of overwhelming him. There's a blank space in Gary's memory that starts the morning of Oct. 24 and extends through most of November.

But three months after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest on his way to work, Gary is sitting at home, telling that story with Patti. He knows the details, and all he can do is say thank you.

"It's a lot to take in," Gary said. "I think about it as I try to go to sleep."

The accident

It's about 7:15 a.m., and Gary Boone is driving to work in his Ford Explorer.

The car is Gary's baby. It's 15 years old, with only 70,000 miles on it, so you know it spent some time protected in a garage, Patti noted.

Gary worked part time delivering auto parts, and on this morning he is heading to Geoff Penske Buick GMC in the 100 block of South Museum Road in Shillington.

Gary remembers driving into the dealership, but that's where his memory ends.

When he pulled into the lot, Gary suffered sudden cardiac arrest. He lost consciousness, wasn't breathing and didn't have a heartbeat.

That's when his foot hit the gas, sending his beloved Explorer into a parked car.

"He had no heartbeat, no pulse," Patti said. "He was essentially dead."

Police response

Sgt. David Witkowski of the Shillington Police Department and Det. Sgt. Michael Hoffert of the Bern Township Police Department heard the radio call for the crash and rushed to the scene. They were less than a mile away when it happened.

At Penske, the officers found Gary and sprinted to their patrol cars, with Witkowski grabbing an automated external defibrillator and Hoffert getting a respirator mask.

They shocked Gary's heart twice and continued CPR until Southern Regional EMS arrived.

When the ambulance crew got there, Gary's heartbeat had returned. The crews boarded him into an ambulance, continued his care and sent information to Reading Hospital so emergency doctors could make plans for treatment.

The initial response was key, said Tim Musser, deputy chief for Southern Berks Regional EMS.

"The job the law enforcement do is astounding," Musser said. "They are on the street and are closer to these incidents and can start lifesaving care. In this case I think they were there in less than a minute."

At the hospital, Patti was greeted by the hospital chaplain, which she took as an ominous sign. She did not know the extent of Gary's injuries or the fact that so much had already been done to save her husband.

"We just happened to be at the right place at the right time," Witkowski said of the call. "This was the best case of a worst-case scenario. I think it shows why it's important that we're all equipped with these AEDs"

Hoffert said he did not know Gary had survived until about a month later.

"It makes your career," he said. "It's especially nice when you think about it for the family, that they get to have him around. That they can spend this time together."

AEDs

Just in terms of probability, Gary's survival was unlikely, since only one in 10 who suffer sudden cardiac arrest will survive, according to the American Heart Association.

But stories like Gary's are starting to appear more and more in Berks, said Dr. Michael Koslow, the chief of cardiology for the Reading Health System.

Witkowski's automated external defibrillator was one of 362 that have been placed in Berks County through the HeartSafe Berks County program.

Those defibrillators have been placed in police cruisers, schools, sports venues, hotels and other community locations where people frequently traverse. The funding for the program has come from the The Friends of Reading Hospital, the hospital's volunteer group.

The availability of defibrillators is key, Koslow, said, because each minute that passes decreases chances of survival by about 10 percent. The defibrillators are automated and give detailed instructions helping the user through the process step by step.

"This is really why we started HeartSafe Berks County," Koslow said. "When we started the program in 2010, we really hoped by providing defibrillators to police that this would be the exact scenario that would result.

"Some of the stories we've been able to generate in Berks County, it has been incredible," Koslow said.

Feeling stronger

After setbacks in November and December that sent him back to the hospital, Gary is starting to feel better. He's eating more, walking more and getting out of that downstairs recliner to navigate his way around more often.

He said seeing his family come home for Christmas really helped spark his recovery, and visits from friends and members of his church have meant so much.

"Since Christmas, each day I can feel myself getting stronger," he said.

Every time Patti hears the siren of an ambulance or a police car, she wonders about the others who are being saved. She said calling 9-1-1 and all these new defibrillators in the area can save lives. It's exactly why her husband is still here.

Last week, Patti was sitting at a table in the lower level of her family home, looking at her husband as he posed for pictures. The tumult of Gary's accident and his struggle to get back to health has been a trying process, but it has fortified her faith and her belief in miracles.

"Every day I look at him and I think: He was dead," she said. "But he's not dead. He's right here. They brought him back to life. I'm so thankful for that."

Contact Matthew Nojiri: 610-371-5062 or mnojiri@readingeagle.com.

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