Los Gatos Family Holds Fundraiser To Purchase Lifesaving CPR Devices for Local Fire Departments
The Counting Blessings Group, an affiliate of the Los Gatos Community Foundation and founded by the Weich family, will hold a fundraiser June 5th from 4-7p.m. to raise funds to purchase Autopulse™ Resuscitation System devices for the Los Gatos and Saratoga fire departments. On March 20, 2004, fifty-seven year old Caralee Weich suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and lay without a pulse for almost thirty minutes. Doctors, firemen, paramedics and medical professionals all credit the Autopulse, a new CPR machine, with saving her life that afternoon and agree that her 100 percent recovery is a true miracle.
Los Gatos, CA (PRWEB) June 2, 2005 -- The Counting Blessings Group, an
affiliate of the Los Gatos Community Foundation and founded by the Weich family,
will hold a fundraiser June 5th from 4-7p.m. to raise funds to purchase
Autopulse™ Resuscitation System devices for the Los Gatos and Saratoga fire
departments. On March 20, 2004, fifty-seven year old Caralee Weich had enjoyed
an afternoon performance of MAMMA MIA! in San Francisco when she suffered a
sudden cardiac arrest and lay without a pulse for almost thirty minutes.
Doctors, firemen, paramedics and medical professionals all credit the Autopulse,
a new CPR machine, with saving her life that afternoon and agree that her 100
percent recovery is a true miracle.
“I am incredibly fortunate to have
been treated by the paramedics with one of the few AutoPulse machines in the Bay
Area and I am tremendously blessed to have my life back again,” marveled Caralee
Weich. “Our family’s campaign to bring our community together to raise awareness
about cardiac arrest and give back to them somehow is so rewarding for us. This
experience has certainly given me a newfound appreciation of how precious life
is and I feel it’s now my responsibility to educate others about my story and
this truly miraculous new medical device,” she continued.
Developed by
Revivant Corporation, recently acquired by ZOLL Medical Corporation (www.zoll.com), the Autopulse is a
comprehensive resuscitation platform that has the power to transform the way CPR
is performed by medical professionals. The small, portable device pumps the
patient's chest to circulate blood to the heart, brain and other vital organs
during cardiac arrest treatment and allows medics to focus on complementary
interventions such as drugs, ventilation and defibrillation, greatly enhancing
the resuscitation process for rescuers in and out of the hospital.
“I
believe the Autopulse provided enough circulation to the brain and heart to
maintain biologic functions during the thirty minutes Caralee was being
resuscitated,” said Dr. Arthur Chin, cardiologist at St. Francis Hospital in San
Francisco. “Caralee has completely recovered neurologically and I’m very
grateful for the Autopulse for playing such a major role in that.”
Cardiac arrest statistics:
- Sudden cardiac arrest claims the lives
of over 450,000 people every year. That's one life lost every two minutes.
-
In a city the size of Los Gatos, more than 25 people die every year from cardiac
arrest.
- Survival rate is less than 5% and has not improved in 30
years.
- Twice the number of women die each year from cardiac arrest and
heart related diseases than from all types of cancers combined.
The
garden reception at La Estancia, owned by David Stonesifer and Larry Arzie, will
feature live and silent auctions and musical performances by local artists,
Kaweh, Gillian Harwin and Francois & Rodrigo. Special guest speakers include
Caralee Weich, Sebastian Wong, the paramedic captain from the San Francisco Fire
Department who came to Caralee’s immediate aid, and Steve Staump, deputy chief
at the Santa Clara Fire Department.
Tickets to the event are $100 (tax
deductible) and can be purchased through Shannon Weich at 408-219-9636, www.countingblessings.com or at the door the day of the event.
For additional information please refer to the web site.
Autopulse is a
registered trademark of Zoll Medical Corporation. and/or its affiliates in the
U.S. and certain other countries.
Press contact:
Shannon
Weich
Counting Blessings Group
408.219.9636
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/6/prweb246861.htm