A loud crash reverberated throughout accounts payable during lunchtime at Swift Transportation. The Phoenix-based office is typically quiet, so the sudden noise startled employees to their feet in search of its source. They found their co-worker Melanie Brown lying on the floor.
“People started circling around, wondering what was going on,” explains Sebastian Guzman, an auditor in the department. “We thought Melanie tripped. But then she started convulsing and shaking.”
Supervisor Ashley Ruiz sent someone to retrieve the automated external defibrillator (AED) from the break room. Meanwhile, Sebastian’s military experience kicked in.
I am alive today thanks to the heroics and training of the staff using the defibrillator recently installed in the [Swift] breakroom.
— Melanie Brown
SCA survivor
“I had to keep calm,” Sebastian recalls. “She wasn’t responding, so I started to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).”
When the ZOLL AED 3® defibrillator arrived, Ashley pressed the power button and applied the electrodes to Melanie’s chest. “As soon as you turn it on, the AED tells you exactly what to do. We followed the steps the AED was giving us,” explains Sebastian.
After analyzing Melanie’s heart rhythm, the AED delivered an initial shock and then instructed rescuers to continue CPR. “The AED gives you the rhythm to go with the heart beats. That helped us from doing compressions too slow or too fast,” Sebastian explains. Melanie’s heart required an additional shock before EMTs arrived.
I sat down and thought, wow, what really just happened? I realized then that you have to be around people who know how to save a life when it comes down to it.
— Sebastian Guzman,
SCA rescuer
Minutes later, Melanie was conscious but unaware of her surroundings as EMTs transported her to a local hospital. “It was an eerie environment. Everyone was shocked by what had happened and we didn’t know if our coworker was going to be all right,” Sebastian recalls.
Later that day, employees at Swift were grateful to learn that Melanie was recovering and had a good prognosis. “It was just a complete shock,” Sebastian recalls. “I just sat down and realized, like, wow what really just happened? I realized then that you have to be around people who know how to save a life when it comes down to it.”
After she recovered, Melanie remembered feeling unwell but was unable to alert anyone before she collapsed. “I started to feel like I had an elephant on my chest, and I noticed it was hard to breathe. The next time I woke up was in the ER,” Melanie explains. “I am alive today thanks to the heroics and training of the staff using the defibrillator recently installed in the [Swift] breakroom.”