Bringing Her Back: The Shock Value of an AED

Good morning writing and reading friends. I'm kicking off the first day of spring by keeping a promise to you. This is the first in a lineup of inspirational stories of survival. After reading, please help Beth and Carly Fonda spread the message of the importance of AED lifesaving devices.

Beth Fonda’s safe “mom bubble” was burst forever on January 6, 2018, when her daughter collapsed and fell off of the Floyd Central High School team bench at a basketball tournament.

On any given day, Beth is a supportive and loving mother, meal cooker, clothes washer, taxi driver, wound healer, and everything else that falls under the description of Mom.

However, that title was challenged to the nth degree that day. It started when her eleven-year-old, Carly, benched herself during a game. “I saw her ask to come out which is not out of the ordinary,” Beth says.

Since basketball keeps players in motion running from one side of the court to the other, Carly’s break didn’t concern Beth.

She kept her eyes on a player shooting free throws until something odd occurred. “I happened to turn and see one of her friend’s dads jump off the bleachers and run over to her,” Beth says. 

Trained first responders and medical personnel also leapt out of the bleachers and ran toward her daughter. When her mind caught up with the rushing action of these heroes swooshing out of their seats toward Carly, she panicked.

She didn’t feel her feet tapping the metal stairs as she made her descent. The sound of people shouting orders, the brightness of the lights, and the smell of sweaty players all swirled around her. It was surreal yet the urgency was palpable.

“I fell down beside her, held her head and her eyes rolled in the back of her head,” she recalls.

After executing seizure protocol, nurses on the scene ascertained that Carly didn’t have a pulse. At that determination, a fireman stood by with an automated external defibrillator (AED) ripped open and ready to go. “They pulled me away and shocked her,” Beth says.

"It (the AED) was saying something about ‘Irregular heartbeat detected please stand back’ and then it administered the shock.”  

The AED worked its magic and Carly’s heart started beating again. Immediately following, she was rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Six days later, she underwent open heart surgery to correct a rare congenital heart defect, anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery (AAOCA). According to the National Library of Medicine, it’s the second leading cause of death in young athletes, as far as sudden cardiac death is concerned.

“I never would believe my eleven-year-old daughter would have a cardiac arrest, ever. And I was not prepared for that. And that, you know, that haunts me to this day,” Beth says.

Carly lives to tell the story as she continues to play and dominate the sports arena. Beth, on the other hand, holds her breath every time Carly takes the court but she knows it’s important to her daughter.

The disease is hard to detect, and Beth wants to get the word out. “Only one percent of what she has survive the other ones are found on autopsy…she’s playing for the ones that can’t play anymore.”