Survival Stories

My name is Jynx. I am a student, an Albert Schweitzer Fellow and a survivor of cardiac arrest.

The first time I heard the words Cardiac Arrest I was 14. Drowsy in a hospital bed, I begged my mom to tell me that it was all a dream. The next time I heard the words, I was told that I had Long QT Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that causes the heart’s electrical impulses to misfire, often leading to abnormal heart rhythms and cardiac arrest. I survived cardiac arrest at 14, at 15, at 21, and then again at 32. Each time, my life depended on well-trained rescuers who knew how to support my heart and were prepared to give me CPR or AED shocks as soon as I needed it and not a second later. I don’t know how my survival would have been impacted had a rescuer hesitated for any reason. Womxn like me and individuals at high risk for a cardiac event rely on bystanders in our homes, schools, workplaces, and public spaces to know exactly how to intervene and to do so without any hesitation.