MENASHA (NBC 26) — It was his wife's quick thinking and the preparedness of emergency responders that saved one Appleton man's life after he experienced sudden cardiac arrest in his home last year.
46-year-old Andrew Haskins was able to meet and thank the Gold Cross Ambulance and Appleton Fire Department personnel who saved his life at a gathering at Gold Cross Ambulance.
"Thank you for doing your job so that I can do mine," Haskins said. "My kids are young. They need their dad. My wife needs a husband."
August 24th, the day the incident occurred, was just like any other day for Haskins.
"I came home from work, I was doing a workout with my kids, and I finished it up," Haskins said.
That's when Andrew collapsed. His children immediately alerted his wife, Doriann Haskins.
"They came and said he had fallen over and he had fallen asleep and wouldn't wake up," Haskins said.
Doriann quickly sprung into action, calling 911 and initiating CPR with the help of the dispatcher until the first responders arrived. They were able to continue CPR and apply an AED, causing him to regain a heartbeat and retain that heartbeat during transport to ThedaCare Medical Center-Appleton.
Nick Romenesko, the systems director for Gold Cross, says it was Doriann's early initiation of CPR that likely saved his life.
"We see thousands of cardiac arrests every year in Wisconsin. When we see good outcomes it's the good CPR that saves the lives," Romenesko said. "Even if you don't know CPR there's really trained personnel on the other end that will teach you that over the phone."
He says when someone experiences cardiac arrest, the key is calling 911 as quickly as possible and beginning CPR until emergency responders can arrive. Gold Cross calls it the chain of survival.
"When we talk about the chain of survival, the first link in that chain is early activation of the 911 system," Romenesko said. "Without that, the rest of the chain can't be successful."
