AED saves another young life

Another young person is alive today because of the mission of our friend, Dr. Terry Gordon.

Dr. Gordon has has practiced cardiology at Akron General Medical Center for 20 years. Following the death of a Barberton High School football player, Gordon helped raise funds to place automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in every junior and high school in the community.

For his efforts, the American Heart Association named him the 2002 National Physician of the Year, and in 2006, he received the United Way of Summit County's 'Physician Volunteer of the Year.'

In 2005, Gordon worked with the State of Ohio, Akron General Medical Center, the American Heart Association and Medtronic PhysioControl to place more than 2,262 AEDs in schools throughout the state. He recently convinced the state legislature to allocate funds to make Ohio the first state with an AED in every school.

Below is a story from the Tribune-Chronicle about a young man from the small southeastern Ohio town of Vernon whose life was saved by and AED that was placed in his school, JUST THE DAY BEFORE! Thanks, Dr. Gordon.

Defibrillator saves teen’s life

By MARLY KOSINSKI Tribune Chronicle

VERNON — Janet Zuga said God must have been standing over her son’s shoulder when he went into cardiac arrest during school last week.‘‘We have Zack with us today because God plans every second of our precious lives,’’ she said Tuesday. ‘‘But those teachers and paramedics are his angels.’’

Zackery Zuga, 13, was walking to science class at Maplewood Middle School about 12:40 p.m. Nov. 7 when he collapsed to the floor. His teacher, Jason Lee, immediately began to perform CPR and called the school nurse, who used the Automatic External Defibrillator to shock his heart back into rhythm.

The quick efforts saved his life, according to Johnston Fire Department medical director Dr. Jeff Bedlion. Bedlion said a Johnston paramedic was eating lunch about a half-mile away from the school when the call came in for a student who had collapsed. He said the paramedic got there before the rescue squad arrived and he took over using the AED.

Zackery was taken to Greenville Hospital, where doctors used a defibrillator on him several more times and then transferred him to Rainbow Babies Hospital in Cleveland. Zuga said her son died once while doctors were working on him, but managed to bring him back.

On Monday, the teenager was taken off a ventilator and is breathing on his own.

‘‘All he asked for when he woke up was a glass of water and to take a shower. He was apologizing to the nurses for making them work so hard. That’s the kind of kid he is; always thinking about others,’’ Zuga said.

She said Zackery has had numerous fainting spells during his childhood and doctors have no explanation other than a rare arrhythmia caused by exercise.

‘‘But he was just walking to class when this happened,’’ she said.

Maplewood Middle School principal Kevin Speicher said the school was placed on Level 1 lockdown in order to clear the hallways and give paramedics room to work.

‘‘You could have heard a pin drop in that building,’’ Bedlion said.

Speicher said he, school nurse Robin Mermer and Lee are trained to use the school’s AED, which was put into service just one day before Zackery collapsed. He said there is one device in each of the district’s three buildings and they were purchased with state grant money.

‘‘I appreciate the efforts of our staff, students and the Johnston Fire Department for their quick response during this incident. We have procedures in place to deal with events like this and we hope we never have to use them, but the plan worked well in this case,’’ Speicher said.

Zuga said the school nurse travels from one building to another and wasn’t supposed to be at the middle school when Zackery collapsed. She also said Lee usually takes a lunch break and normally wouldn’t have been in the room, but he ate lunch in his class that day.

‘‘I really believe that Mr. Lee saved my son’s life,’’ Zuga said.

She said that although doctors are almost certain Zackery has no brain damage from his heart stopping, he has a long road to recovery ahead.

‘‘The doctors at Rainbow Babies are going to put a defibrillator in him before he leaves the hospital,’’ she said.

Zuga said it’s unclear how long Zackery will remain at the hospital, but said the nurses and doctors there have been ‘‘phenomenal.’’ She said the Cleveland facility is amazing in terms of its level of care and compassionate staff.

She and her husband, Bill, are rotating visitation days to the hospital so their 10-year-old daughter, Erika, can maintain a schedule.

‘‘She has been a rock through all this. She misses her brother,’’ Zuga said.

She said Zackery, a seventh-grader, loves Ohio State football and is a member of 4-H, where he raises steers and pigs. She said he loves school, noting her son maintains a 4.0 GPA.

Charles Jarvis, publisher of the Tribune Chronicle, said his farm is close to the Zuga farm and he knows the family.

‘‘Zack is an energetic young man. He raises animals for the Trumbull County Fair and won the reserve champion steer this summer. The Tribune bought one of his steers at the fair several years ago. He is a hard-working kid and we wish him well in his recovery,’’ Jarvis said.