Bishop Chatard is among first high schools to receive defibrillator

Bishop Chatard High School athletic director Mike Ford shows the Automated Electronic Defibrillator that was donated to the Indianapolis North Deanery high school by the Reviving Hearts Program. The program hopes to have the life-saving medical device at all Indiana high schools within five years. (Photo by John Shaughnessy)

By John Shaughnessy

Mike Ford listened to the stories that the two men shared, letting it sink in how thin the line between life and death can be sometimes.

Ford heard the story of John McCormick, a father who talked about how his 14-year-old son died from Sudden Cardiac Arrest while playing basketball in 2006.

The athletic director of Bishop Chatard High School in Indianapolis also heard the story of Andy Williams, a

29-year-old man who had a miraculous recovery from the heart attack he suffered while playing in a church league basketball game.

Both men also told the audience at Bishop Chatard High School on May 1 about the roles that a medical device called an Automated Electronic Defibrillator played in the two emergency situations.

Williams said the device saved his life, shocking his heart back into rhythm. Even McCormick said the device gave his son, Josh, a chance to live after he collapsed at Madison-Grant High School in Fairmount, Ind.

Both men spoke on behalf of the Reviving Hearts Program, a program that was started this year with the goal of putting defibrillators at all Indiana high schools within five years.

At the end of the presentation, a defibrillator was given to Bishop Chatard High School, one of the first four high schools in the state to receive the device from Reviving Hearts.

“Everyone would like to have this equipment, but you’re not always able to afford it,” said a grateful Ford, who estimated that the cost of an Automated Electronic Defibrillator is about $1,800.

Ford said he was touched by the stories of McCormick and Williams.

“Mr. McCormick brought pictures of his son, Josh,” Ford recalled. “It was very sad and touching. He just feels compelled as his life mission that schools and facilities have this equipment available for students, and parents and grandparents when they’re at the school. It would be a shame to not have this equipment.”

No one stated that case better than Williams, who was revived after he collapsed in 2007 during a church league basketball game in Knightstown. Williams came to Bishop Chatard with his wife and their 1-year-old child.

“His story was eye-opening because he basically was gone,” Ford said. “His heart had stopped, and they were able to bring him back because of the device. He was told he wouldn’t be here today without it. He’s back to an active and healthy lifestyle.”

That’s the hope of the Reviving Hearts Program, which is designed by the Cardiovascular Research and Education Foundation of Indiana and The Care Group.

“Sudden Cardiac Arrest [SCA] is the leading cause of death in the United States, with a death occurring every two minutes,” noted a press release from the Reviving Hearts Program. “It is also the leading cause of death of high school athletes, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.

“SCA occurs abruptly and without warning, and two-thirds of SCA deaths occur in people without any prior indications of heart disease. To have a chance of surviving, victims of SCA must receive a life-saving defibrillation within the first four to six minutes when brain damage starts to occur. Automated Electronic Defibrillators can increase the survival rate for SCA up to 90 percent by delivering a shock within the first few minutes of an attack.”

The Reviving Hearts Program has four sponsors so far: Fifth Third Bank, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent, St. Vincent Heart Center of Indiana and Indiana Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

“It’s a great purpose,” Ford said. “Bottom line, it’s set up to help people who wouldn’t have that help available if it wasn’t for this program.” †