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While warming up before a cheer competition in Raleigh, North Carolina, on March 5th, 17-year-old Keianna Joe passed out and became unresponsive. At first they thought the high school senior was having a seizure, but her coach couldn’t find a pulse. Keianna’s mom Andrea Joe ran down from the stands to help her daughter and immediately started CPR.
Soon someone brought the mom an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) device. She attached its paddles to her daughter and the machine indicated that she needed an electric shock. Andrea shocked Keianna’s heart and then continued CPR until paramedics arrived a few minutes later and rushed her to nearby Duke Medical Center, where testing confirmed that the teen had suffered a heart attack.
Keianna is still receiving treatment in the hospital, but she and her family are thankful that she’s alive. And her mom is hoping the story of her daughter’s close call will help raise awareness of the importance of having lifesaving AEDs more widely available. Keianna has now undergone surgery to receive an implantable cardiac defibrillator and is on the road to recovery. The family has set up a crowdfund to help them pay for her medical bills and rehabilitation.
Source: KY3