Finding answers. For life.

Brandon

No one expects a 13 year old boy to collapse in cardiac arrest, but that's exactly what happened in November, 2009 at James Keating Elementary School.

Brandon is alive today thanks to the presence of an Automated External Defribrillator (AED) at the school which was able to restart his heart along with CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The placement of the AED was made possible by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario's Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund.

Brandon collapsed on one of the school's athletic fields. Staff from the school immediately called 911, began CPR and called for the AED. When police arrived, an officer used the AED to shock the grade 8 student's heart, which had stopped beating. The officer continued CPR while waiting for the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services, which arrived within the next few minutes. They confirmed that Brandon had a pulse and was going to be okay.

"The fact that Brandon is alive today is a testament to what happens when individuals in the community learn CPR and when an AED is within reach," says Marco Di Buono, Director of Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. "With funds donated to our Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, a Life Program and the Chase McEachern Tribute Fund by individuals, community groups and our corporate sponsors, we have been able to allocate 2,795 AED units in communities across the province." Since the program's inception in 2006, 19 lives have been saved and 2,083 units have been deployed across Ontario.

Web:  www.heartandstroke.ca
Phone:  1-888-HSF-INFO(1-888-473-4636)