It’s the Real Thing 

by Linda2

Walking down the airport concourse, the two men were taking their time.  For once, a flight had arrived at the airport early, leaving them with plenty of time to get to the gate for their next flight.  They had traveled together often enough that they were comfortable with one another. 

Always a big man, BC Roy DeSoto had lost nothing over the years.  As a matter of fact, he was carrying a few extra pounds. Unlike his former partner, who still ate almost constantly and remained lanky, he had to watch what he ate.  His hair, which had always been light, was now totally white.  Walking beside his former partner and fellow BC he felt almost old.  The other man walked with an energy that belied his years and still had a tendency to chatter and rant and rave over the smallest things. 

Johnny suddenly pulled up short and pointed to the wall.  “Look at that,” he said.  At first puzzled, Roy quickly realized what he was looking at.  A heart with a lightening bolt slashing across it was depicted on a sign.  It was the universal sign for an AED; the new defibrillator designed with the layperson in mind.  Roy had seen and handled the compact orange box in training.  He knew it was becoming a fixture in airports and other public places, but had never seen one outside of training before.

As they walked on past the niche where the AED was stored, Johnny shook his head and chuckled.  “Do you remember when Brackett did his demonstration of the defibrillator?  When I was going through training?  How freaked out he was about us ‘half trained lay people’ using something that dangerous?”

“Yeah, I remember.”  Roy thought back to that time.  Dr. Brackett had done all he could to impress upon the trainees that the defibrillator was a dangerous instrument, delivering a very real jolt of electricity.  Sending that jolt of electricity through someone with a normal heartbeat would disrupt the rhythm of the heart, and would be tantamount to killing them.  Working on this principle, the whole idea of the defibrillator was to disrupt the abnormal rhythm of the heartbeat, frequently allowing it to resume its normal rhythm.  Unfortunately, not all disrhythmias are alike, some are shockable and some are only treatable with medications.  Knowing the difference and using the defibrillator correctly proved to be trickier than he had first thought it would be. 

In recent years the small AED’s were designed so that virtually anyone could use them.  Studies had shown that many times defibrillation early in the heart attack, prevented the heart from going into a non-shockable rhythm.  Thus the goal of making a defibrillator available in public places, a device that could be used by virtually anyone, had resulted in AEDs.  Shock pads had written instructions, as well as pictures depicting where they should be placed on them.  A push of the button on the AED, itself, elicited spoken instructions programmed into the device.  The AED then analyzed the rhythm, decided whether or not the rhythm was shockable.  If necessary, after issuing a warning, the device automatically shocked the victim.  Anyone who can see, hear, and understand English can use the device. 

“What will they think of next?”  Johnny voiced Roy’s own thought shaking his head.  “Wonder what Brackett thinks of these things?”

“I don’t know.  Why don’t you ask him when we get home.”  Roy said.

“I think I will.”  John sounded thoughtful, and after a moment spoke again.  “You ever use one of those things?”

“Nope.”

“Me neither.  You think they really work?  I mean, they don’t hardly seem like real defibrillators.”

“I don’t know.  I don’t really want to find out any time soon either,” Roy said.   

Continuing down the concourse, they settled into seats near their gate.  Soon, others joined them. They watched as people found places, and sat down around them.  Finely honed instincts kicked in when they saw a man sitting near them.  He looked worried, and would alternately press his hand to his chest and rub his left arm.  When beads of perspiration broke out on the man’s forehead, they looked at one another.  By tacit agreement they both rose and approached the man.  Before they could get to him, he slumped over, unconscious.

They lowered the man to the floor.  Having witnessed what had happened, they by-passed the shaking and shouting.  While Roy automatically positioned the man’s head so that he would have a clear airway and checked for breathing, he heard John issuing orders.  One uniformed young woman reported that she had already called for help.  Another one rushed to get one of the nearby AEDs. 

By the time she returned with the device, John had begun performing CPR compressions.  Waiting to give the man a breath between compressions, Roy saw the girl return with the AED.

“Open it,” he told her shortly.  The girl looked surprised but did as she was told.  When she had the box open, he told her to set it up.  At first she looked puzzled, but then she saw the pictures on the pads.  While John and Roy continued CPR, working with fumbling fingers, she placed the connector in its slot.  Then, after removing the backing, she placed the pads on the man’s chest as directed.  When she punched the button on the device, a man’s voice emanated from it. 

“No one touch the patient.  Analyzing rhythm.”  The voice stated.  John and Roy stopped CPR so the machine could accurately analyze the rhythm of the patient’s heart.  Both hoped the next step would be for the machine to deliver a shock that would stop the abnormal rhythm, and allow the heart to return to a normal rhythm. 

After a moment, the device advised it was preparing to deliver a shock and that no one should touch the patient.  A shock was delivered and the machine began analyzing the patient again. 

Roy felt a touch on his shoulder and looked up to find a local paramedic behind him.  Standing, he moved out of the way so the man could take his place.  He saw that another paramedic had taken John’s place as well.  They stood back and watched as the man was treated, loaded onto a stretcher and taken away.  The electric shock delivered by the AED had saved his life. 

The young woman who had run for the AED was standing not too far away.  Roy could see that she was still shaking.  Walking over to her he asked, “are you all right?” 

“Yes, I’m okay,” she replied.  “You guys saved his life.”

“No, we saved his life.  You helped a lot by setting up that AED.” 

“I’ve never done anything like that before.  I didn’t think I could do it.  But it wasn’t all that difficult.” 

After a few moments she returned to her desk and their flight was called. When they were airborne, John said, “Well now we know.”

“Know what?”  Roy asked, puzzled.

“It’s the real thing, a real defibrillator.  Wonder what Bracket thinks of those things?”

“I don’t know.  Why don’t you ask him when we get back home?”

“I think I will.” 

The End    

Author’s note:  For those who are not familiar with them, AEDs are a very real device that has been developed.  They were tested in the Chicago airport and are readily available there now.  The heart with a lightening bolt is also real, so if you see it, you know that is where the defibrillator is.  All mistakes are mine.  I was writing from memory.  I have seen the AEDs in CPR training class and been shown how they work, but I don’t remember the exact sequence or the exact wording of the instructions.  This is a work of fiction, so take it with a grain of salt. 

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