By Maria Baran
Belleville News-Democrat
Copyright 2007 Belleville News-Democrat
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. — Jason Batty had his arm in a sling Tuesday to prevent strain on the site where a defibrillator was surgically installed to control his heart rhythm.
But otherwise, the Collinsville resident was the picture of health.
And Batty, a 33-year-old senior at Southern Illinois University who was revived with an automated external defibrillator (AED) after collapsing in class Oct. 3, is hopeful he’ll soon be running again.
“I want to get back to running as quickly as possible,” said Batty, who attended a ceremony Tuesday at SIUE to honor the people who administered CPR and used the AED to revive him.
Lt. Governor Pat Quinn presented five community members with Heartsaver Hero awards at the ceremony, and Batty thanked them for their quick action.
For an unknown reason, Batty suffered cardiac arrest Oct. 3 in his kinesiology class. Quinn came to town to honor a student, professors and others who revived him.
“We need to make specific efforts to recognize heart-saving heroes,” Quinn said at a news conference at the Vadalabene Center, the same building where Batty collapsed.
Awards were given to: Christopher Kahn, a classmate; John Smith, an assistant professor; Darlene Harmon, a coordinator for campus recreation; David Cluphf, an associate professor; and April Damian, a nurse who was representing Barnes-Jewish Hospital at a campus career fair.
Batty was conscious when paramedics arrived but he said he does not remember when his heart’s “rhythm got out of whack.” The next thing he recalls was waking up in Anderson Hospital. He was then transported to Memorial Hospital in Belleville where he had a defibrillator surgically installed to control his heart rhythm.
He said his heart rate and blood pressure are good. On Saturday he returned to coaching football at Metro East Lutheran High School in Edwardsville. A couple of weeks prior to the attack, he ran a half marathon.
The people who revived Batty are “an all-star team,” said Quinn, who supported the passage of a 2005 law that requires schools, park districts and health clubs to install AEDs in all indoor physical fitness facilities.
Lois Dipazo, assistant program manager for the Southwestern Illinois chapter of the Red Cross, demonstrated how to use an AED for the crowd of more than 100 students, school officials and members of the community.
After she attached the pads to a dummy’s chest, plugged in the cord and pressed a button, she said, “That’s all there is to it.”
She continued, “It does save lives.”
In 2005, the Colleen O’Sullivan law was signed by the state legislature, requiring all fitness centers and school districts to have defibrillators. O’Sullivan was a 30-year-old attorney for the Illinois House who died from heart complications while exercising at a health club.