On October 6, 2016, Rich Zerbey experienced sudden cardiac arrest. Today,
he stands proudly with his nursing school classmates who helped save his
life. From Left to Right: Sarah Fryberger, Jill Peterson, Allison Keeports,
Rich Zerbey,Kalli Krier, Taylor England and Melissa Robinson.
On a seemingly normal October day, Rich Zerbey finished his nursing classes at Chester County Hospital and walked back with his nursing peers to board the shuttle bus during the hospital’s parking garage construction project. As he was chatting with his colleagues on the shuttle, Kalli Krier, a fellow nursing student, started to notice that something was wrong with Rich. “His responses to questions started to slow down and his eyes looked glazed over. At first, I thought he might have just spaced out in conversation but in my gut, I had a feeling something was wrong.”
What his colleagues would soon find out was that Rich had gone into sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). As he stopped speaking and slumped over to his side, Jill Peterson immediately shouted, “Look at him!” to get the groups attention. Sarah Fryberger instantly dialed 911 while Taylor England helped organize the group to act quickly.
Jill was holding him up when she noticed he had stopped breathing and his lips had turned blue. The nursing students worked as a team and took him to the center aisle of the shuttle to start CPR. “Jill had started performing mouth-to-mouth CPR while I did the first round of chest compressions,” said Melissa Robinson. Three nursing students took turns giving chest compressions, beginning with Melissa, then Taylor, and then Allison Keeports. “Shortly after I started giving chest compressions, the paramedics had arrived. The first responder on the scene was Officer Michael Cotter from the West Goshen Township Police Department, who put on the automated external defibrillator (AED) to try to revive him,” says Allison.
West Goshen Police arrived within three minutes of the 911 call, followed by Good Fellowship Ambulance, and Medic 91. He was transported back to Chester County Hospital, where he received lifesaving coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). Rich says, “The only thing I remember before the incident was getting on the shuttle. I woke up two days after surgery asking the health care staff what had happened.”
Rich had no signs or symptoms earlier that day and had no prior medical history of heart disease. “I felt completely healthy that morning. I didn’t have any warning signs. I had been off of medication to treat Lyme disease for about two weeks, which I caught back in August, but I was feeling great – I even went on a three-mile run just a couple weeks prior,” he adds.
Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If this happens, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. If not treated within minutes, SCA can cause death. Even though people who have heart disease are at a higher risk for SCA, it can happen in people who are healthy and have no known history of heart disease or other risk factors.
Rich attributes being alive today to his nursing student colleagues because they responded so quickly by calling 911 and performing CPR. He also has plenty of positive remarks for the emergency teams that responded to the call. “It speaks volumes for our EMS response system in Chester County, of which I’m proud to be part. I just happened to be wearing my volunteer Goshen Fire Company t-shirt that day, which they had to cut off of me.”
When asked what made the biggest difference, the students claim team work and some basic CPR knowledge. “We all just worked really well together. We were only three weeks into the nursing program at Delaware County Community College so we only had basic CPR knowledge – for most of us, this was our first time administering CPR in a critical situation,” says Sarah.
Rich also noted how pleased he was at the care he received at Chester County Hospital.
“It was magnificent. Everybody did everything that they needed to do to keep me alive and get me back in shape. The care I got in Intensive Care Unit was great. My surgeon was Dr. Robert Wenger, who did an amazing job. My physician in the cardiac catheterization lab was Dr. Joseph Lewis.”
Rich Zerbey has since recovered from surgery and is anxiously waiting to get accepted back into nursing school and join the team who helped save his life. “Right now, I’m focusing on exercising regularly and staying healthy, but I can’t wait to get back to school so I can become a nurse and provide the type of exceptional and life-saving care that saved my own life.”
Interested in learning about your risk for heart disease? Find out by taking an online cardiac risk assessment, such as Chester County Hospital’s “Heart Tracks.” It allows you to compare your actual age to your heart’s biological age, estimate your risk of developing cardiovascular disease and prioritize your most harmful cardiovascular risk factors. Take The Assessment Now!