Heart attack survivor pushes importance of CPR, pays for classes at Butler hospital
The last memory Victoria Williams has of New Year’s Eve 2022 is making small talk in the stationery aisle at Target with two strangers alongside her 11-month-old daughter.
Williams woke up in the intensive care unit at Butler Memorial Hospital a few days later to learn that she collapsed at the store without warning, and was saved by one of the strangers in the aisle who performed CPR on her.
“I thought I was just going on my biweekly Target run,” said Williams of Chicora, a nurse at Butler Memorial Hospital. “Had I not been that close to someone who knew CPR, I may not be here. They saved my brain function.”
While the stranger in the aisle turned out to be a nurse at Butler Memorial Hospital who was trained in CPR for her job, Williams said she doesn’t want to leave the fate of other heart attack victims up to chance.
Williams and her family have created a “Saturday CPR Blitz” on Feb. 11 at the hospital, where all four CPR classes that day will be paid for by Williams and her family. Williams said it is her hope that people will take the opportunity to learn CPR so they can save a life in an emergency situation.
“I want people to see that you don’t have to work in health care to do that,” Williams said. “You never know; you could be the difference in someone’s outcome.”
On Thursday, Butler Health System recorded a video of Williams telling her story, which will be played at CPR classes hosted by the hospital.
In the video, Williams explains that although she had a cardiac ablation at age 14 — using heat or cold to block irregular electrical signals to the heart — nothing in her health history indicated that she would suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. She said she is thankful the strangers in the aisle with her knew how to administer CPR and how to deliver defibrillation charges when she was passed out.
Sarah Tusing, American Heart Association instructor at Butler Health System, has led CPR classes for years. She said classes last about an hour-and-a-half, and people who take a class will learn everything from the basics of identifying an emergency situation requiring CPR to applying lifesaving measures.
According to Tusing, Williams’ story of her cardiac arrest is exactly why the leaders of the class push the importance of knowing CPR. If no one administered CPR to Williams within a few minutes after her heart stopped, her health outcome could have been worse.
“You see how important it is — when a bystander jumps in, we have a better chance of saving them,” Tusing said. “We stress the importance of early intervention.”
Tusing also said she is grateful that many people are beginning to realize the importance of a basic emergency medical knowledge, and that the Feb. 11 classes will be free for everyone.
Dr. Joseph Kusick, doctor of osteopathy at Butler Health System, said it is crucial for CPR to be administered on a patient as soon as possible, because medical crews may not arrive in time to save the brain.
“Sadly, it is generally not feasible that emergency medical services are able to arrive in time to initiate CPR before organ damage occurs, particularly to the brain,” Kusick said. “A case like Vicki's highlights just how rapid initiation of CPR can quite literally make the difference between life and death.”
Williams said she hopes people take inspiration from her story to take a CPR class, so more people will be available to save the lives of others in public spaces.
“You just have to know the basics to save someone’s life,” Williams said. “Especially as we’re seeing staffing crises in health care, it’s so important that people know how they can help.”
The classes scheduled for Feb. 11 begin at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m., and tuition for each has been paid for by Williams’ family. To register for the classes, call 724-284-4699 or email education@butlerhealthsystem.org.
