CPR AED | Cardiac arrest survivor on a mission turns to music to raise awareness about CPR and AEDs

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CPR AED Cardiac arrest survivor on a
mission turns to music to raise awareness about
CPR and AEDs
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Each weekday at lunchtime, Maurice Trosclair ran
four miles along the Lake Pontchartrain levee
near his office building in Metairie, a New
Orleans suburb. An avid runner, Maurice, 55, had
completed a half-marathon nine days earlier. But
on Feb. 14, 2017, a gut feeling urged Maurice to
end his run at the one-mile mark and to return to
the office to finish some work. He also needed to
pack before he left on a trip to New York
City. Maurice, a geosciences technician, also
was a trombone player who was set to perform with
Delfeayo Marsalis and the Uptown Jazz Orchestra
the next day at Lincoln Jazz Center. His cell
phone buzzed as he walked toward the elevator in
his office building. His wife, Nancy, had sent
him a text to thank him for the Valentines Day
card that he had taped to their backyard fence.
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He was replying to Nancys text on the elevator
ride to the ninth floor when he suddenly
collapsed and fell facedown. Nancys text was the
last thing Maurice would remember for the next
four days. He had suffered a cardiac arrest. Two
women who were inside the elevator, Sandy Ortego
and Kim Duplessis, immediately sprang into action
when the elevator stopped. Sandy dashed out to
get help at Premiere Athletic Club located on the
ninth floor where Maurice had been headed to take
a shower. Kim stayed inside the elevator as it
headed up to the 21st floor. The building has
smart elevators where people select their floor
destination before getting inside. Kim grabbed
Maurices phone before it locked up and called
the last person he had texted. Nancy answered an
incoming call on her cell phone at another gym
where she was exercising.
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Hey baby, Nancy said, fully expecting to hear
Maurices voice. Happy Valentines Day. There
was an awkward silence Do you know someone who
works in this building? Kim asked. Yes, of
course, my husband, Nancy said. You called me
from his phone. Kim tells Nancy that Maurice has
just suffered a heart attack much to Nancys
shock. What? Nancy tells Kim. He had just run
a half marathon. Hes healthy. For the next 50
minutes, Kim keeps Nancy on the phone as the
emergency response unfolded that would involve
the assistance of six people, each playing a
vital link in the chain of survival. The
elevator proceeded to the 21st floor next. When
the doors opened, Suzanne Howard, a nurse for
Peoples Health, was nearby waiting for another
elevator. She saw Maurice lying face down. She
immediately ran over to him and started CPR while
the elevator doors closed and proceeded to its
next stop, which took about 10 minutes.
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Meanwhile, Sandy arrived at the athletic club and
told the manager, Roy Fontenelle, about Maurices
situation. They called 911. Roy grabbed the
health clubs Automated External Defibrillator
(AED), which was the only AED in the building.
Roy and club employee, Kaitlyn Reis, ran to go
find Maurice. The elevator finally arrived back
on the first floor, where Tricha Arabie, another
nurse who works for Peoples Health, was waiting.
Suzanne screamed that she needed help. Tricha
took over the CPR efforts and tagged team with
Suzanne. Roy and Kaitlyn found Maurice on the
first floor. The AED was deployed and shocked
Maurice one time. Maurice was checked for a pulse
before CPR resumed. When the EMT team arrived,
they administered four additional shocks. They
also put an automatic chest compression device
known as a Lucas 3 and administered continuous
manual breathing. The EMT team got Maurice on the
ambulance and sped to East Jefferson General
Hospital.
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Doctors intubated Maurice who was put in a
medically induced coma. Four days later, he was
released from the hospital donning a bright
yellow cape with the letter M on the
back. Before he suffered a cardiac arrest,
Maurice said AEDS were not top of mind for
him. Thats the thing the more we educated
ourselves about what happened to me, it got to
the point where at every place, Im looking for
an AED, he said. Im performing at venues
looking for the AED. Its mind boggling how many
places of high volumes of people traffic dont
have one. The lifesaving efforts that unfolded
on Feb. 14, 2017 inspired Maurice and Nancy to
form a nonprofit called Heartbeat NOLA, which
encourages CPR training among residents,
increases awareness about AEDs and raises funds
to purchase AEDS for music venues throughout New
Orleans.
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Maurice, who also has written music for years,
turned to music to help him cope with the anxiety
and questions that lingered after his cardiac
emergency. He said he also wanted to write to see
if that part of his brain still functioned
properly. The first song I wrote is You Are
Not Alone, because I had fellow survivors on my
mind, he said. I was feeling what theyre
feeling. The lyrics and music were meaningful to
me but also the people I was writing for. He
continued with his songwriting, which spurred his
first solo album titled, Grateful A Sudden
Cardiac Arrest Survivors Awakening, which was
released in December. All proceeds from album
sales will benefit Heartbeat NOLA. Twenty
musicians collaborated on the project with
Maurice, who said the album is a tribute to
people who save lives and conveys the message
that tomorrow is not guaranteed.
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When you put together all the songs that came
together on this project, its a basically a
musical thank you note to everyone that not only
saved my life but save lives every day, he said.
Because this whole experience has opened up my
eyes that anybody can save someones life. If you
have two hands, call 911 and get an
AED. Maurice encourages the public to become
educated about CPR during CPR and AED Awareness
week, which is June 1-7. He said its important
to learn CPR now more than ever as many people
are spending a lot of time at home during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Where do most cardiac
arrests happen? In the home, he said. Chances
are youre going to save the life of somebody you
love. Our EMS is stretched. We need to become
citizen first responders. We need to play our
role just like we are now with social distancing.
We need to play our role in the first move in the
chain of survival.
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City, NJ, Livingston, NJ, and Queens, New York
and Gainesville, FL. Souce https//cprblog.hear
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