Defibrillator helps save life of man at gym
Hainesville man collapses during pick-up game

James R. Thompson Center, Chicago, Illinois, September 23rd, 2007

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By FRANK ABDERHOLDEN

Quick thinking and a handy defibrillator may have saved the life of a 56-year-old Hainesville man who collapsed on the gym floor during a pick-up basketball game Sunday at Grayslake Central High School.

"There were a couple of different games going on, but when he dropped everyone flashed over there. At first we thought he was having a seizure," said Jason Bullman of Grayslake who is a certified lifeguard instructor and works full time for the Vernon Hills Park District.

Defibrillators required
The Illinois General Assembly and Lt. Governor Patrick Quinn teamed up in 2004 to pass the Colleen O'Sullivan Law requiring defibrillators in schools, park district facilities and physical fitness facilities.

O'Sullivan, a staff attorney for the Illinois House of Representatives, died of heart complications in 2002 after exercising at a health club facility.

The Heartsaver fund was signed into law by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in 2005.
Residents can contribute to The Heartsaver fund by checking off line 28 on their 2006 tax return.

Efforts expanded
State Rep. Joann Osmond, R-Antioch, donated AEDs to the Antioch Police Department and now all nine squads are equipped with automatic external defibrillators. All the officers are trained and certified in CPR and use of the AED by Antioch Rescue Squad personnel.

Osmond also also instrumental in helping Waukegan get AEDs in their squad cars and providing the AEDS to schools from Wauconda to Wadsworth. Her husband, Tim, who held her seat before her, died of a heart attack in 2003, and had been a paramedic for 23 years. Getting the devices into public buildings was also one of his causes.

Osmond spoke to the general assembly as a sponsor of the Colleen O'Sullivan Law and it passed 117-0. "His jaw was locked and his body tensed up," he said. A man who had been watching a football game outside came running in. He was a nurse from Huntley and he took over while Bullman ran to get the school's automatic external defibrillator.

"I knew where the AED was because I had seen it and I just noted it," Bullman said. "We have one at our park district."The man had been breathing on his own, but they had to resort to CPR. Jason returned with the AED and when they could no longer find a pulse it was time to use the life-saving device.
"We shocked him one time before the paramedics arrived," said Bullman. They got a pulse and he started breathing. By the time he was being transported to Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, his eyes were open and he was breathing on his own.

Jason only knew the man as Mike. Neither the hospital nor the Grayslake Fire Department would release the victim's name. Bullman said he heard the man would soon be released from Condell.

"I've played ball with him. I see him every Sunday. I'm just glad he's OK," said Bullman, who downplays his role in saving the man's life.

Grayslake Fire Chief Don Mobley said that statistics show 200,000 people die each year from sudden cardiac arrest and research has shown that quick access and deployment of the AED by trained bystanders can greatly increase the likelihood of survival.

"These gentlemen should be lauded for their work," said Mobley. "There is no doubt that their actions made the difference for this patient," he said.