It was a sunny summer day in 1998 when the Desperado Club’s
softball team struck out its opponents and headed to the on-deck
circle at the Gavilan College softball field. Gary Filice, 42,
reached down and picked up a bat, swinging it a little. Then he
collapsed and, despite resuscitation attempts from teammates, he
died there on the field of a heart attack.
It was a sunny summer day in 1998 when the Desperado Club’s softball team struck out its opponents and headed to the on-deck circle at the Gavilan College softball field. Gary Filice, 42, reached down and picked up a bat, swinging it a little. Then he collapsed and, despite resuscitation attempts from teammates, he died there on the field of a heart attack.
“We could hear the sirens coming – someone had called 911 right away – but it was so frustrating,” said Ron Erskine, a teammate who was with Filice that day. “You know in your head that it’s just minutes passing, but it felt like days before the ambulance got there. We always wondered if there had been a defibrillator at the ball field if Gary might not have died.”
During the past decade, automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) have become more visible in public places in an attempt to avoid exactly what happened to Filice. The defibrillators, which are about the size of a laptop computer, have come down in price and are increasingly more user-friendly, making it possible for any average Joe to save the life of an individual whose heart has stopped from injury or a heart attack.
“I think AEDs are great – statistics absolutely show that they save lives,” said Ben Shaver, director of emergency services at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister. “You may not know (cardio-pulmonary recuscitation) or not know what to do, but the machine does and it literally talks you through what to do.”
The machine, once turned on, tells the user where to place the shock pads, Shaver said. Then the machine assesses whether or not the patient has a heartbeat. The machine then tells the user if they need to push the button to give the patient a shock to the heart.
“When the heart is in ventricular fibrillation (an often fatal irregular heart rhythm) – when someone’s having a heart attack – they have about six minutes to get a shock,” Shaver said. “During that time, no blood is getting to the brain so if someone goes six minutes without help, they can end up with serious brain damage. When someone ceases to have a pulse, every minute counts.”
The American Red Cross has a list of stories from across the country detailing accounts of AEDs saving lives. The stories include a Starbucks employee saving a customer, a congregant at a synagogue saving a fellow worshiper and a wife saving her husband.
Aside from airports, casinos and shopping malls, AEDs can be found in Morgan Hill at the aquatic center and at the Centennial Recreation Center. In Gilroy, AEDs are available in city hall, the senior center and the corporation yard. Though there aren’t any defibrillators available in Hollister public buildings yet, they are something the city hopes to have in place in the future, said a spokesperson at the city clerk’s office.
As for the Gavilan softball field where Filice died, there are still no defibrillators available.
“Our Health/Safety, Facilities and Grounds Committee has it on the February agenda to take another look,” said Jan Bernstein-Chargin, spokesperson for the college. “We’ve heard that technology has changed and made the defibrillators easier to use.”
In the meantime, Erskine, founder of Coast Range Brewery in Gilroy, and his Desperados teammates have spent the last eight years trying to raise awareness of the life-saving capabilities of AEDs. Every February, the Desperados host a charity dinner called the Sweetheart Social event at the brewery. The club works in conjunction with the Gilroy Foundation to make sure the proceeds go to the Gary Filice Memorial Endowment, which gives scholarships to kids who want to play sports and offers funding for defibrillators in public places.
The American Red Cross and American Heart Association offer classes on how to use AEDs.
“The classes aren’t necessary to use the machines, but the idea is that the more people who are trained that are out there, the more likely someone near a heart attack victim is comfortable using the machine,” Shaver said. “There are two big things to remember. First, make sure that no one is touching the patient while the machine is analyzing them for a pulse. Second, if you’re using an AED at a pool or where there are puddles, pull the patient out of the puddle before using the machine.”
People can purchase AEDs for their home with a prescription from their doctor. AEDs cost anywhere from $850 to $3,000.
Want to take a class on the use of defibrillators? Visit www.redcross.org or www.americanheart.org for more information.
