Alexis Curran- Cardiac Arrest Survivor

I have been running on a very regular basis for about 5 years now. Leading up to my cardiac arrest on November 7th, 2012 I was training hard for the Seattle Marathon (which would have been my 3rd after Winthrop in 2010 and NYC in 2011). Just a few short weeks before, I was in the Enchantments on a 21-mile loop. When I think about where I was when my cardiac arrest happened and the fact that it didn’t happen when I was in the middle of the Enchantments, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason and there is a reason I am still here. I find it a little bit funny to be the one writing about my story, because I don’t actually remember any of it, but through those who were there the evening of November 7th, 2012, I have been able to put together the puzzle pieces and the events that took place.
After work that day I agreed to meet my dad and my good friend Jef for a training run going from my apartment on Capitol Hill, down to Lakeview Blvd, up a long staircase and back over to my apartment. We made one trip up the complete set of stairs to 10thAvenue and back down. On the second trip up, after the first set of stairs at Streissguth Gardens I sat down at the base of the second set of stairs because I was tired. Blake Bidleman, an off-duty firefighter-in-training, and his wife happened to live next door to the gardens and were out for an evening walk. He noticed that I wasn’t doing well and when I stopped responding to him, he immediately began CPR, asking his wife to call 911. The engine, ambulance and Medic One unit came and 8 individuals worked to keep me alive. The thing that I worry about most is my dad. To watch your little girl go through what I went through is unimaginable. In speaking to him about how he was affected by that evening, he says that when he saw how many people were tending to me, and the absolute skill and professionalism of the medics/firefighters, it was actually very calming for him and he knew that everything was being done to save me.

It still has not been determined why this happened to me, and I don’t know that I will ever know the exact cause. I had no previous signs of any heart problems and there is no history in my family. It still seems unreal that this happened to me and I still can’t believe that every piece of the puzzle fit so perfectly together that evening to enable me to be here to tell my story. I am so incredibly grateful for my friends, family, Blake who saved my life, and Kayla Burt who I have had the fortune to meet this year - my fellow survivor and an absolutely amazing friend who has helped me in a way that no one else can by helping to wrap my brain around what happened from the perspective of someone who has also been there.


Original Published Link Alexis Curran- Cardiac Arrest Survivor

#CardiacArrest, #CPR, #Enchantments #Others

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