OCFA First Responders Awarded Certificates Of Heroism By Woman They Saved

IRVINE, CA — Six months after mother Stephanie Gavshon suffered a sudden onset cardiac arrest at her home, both she and her family have much to be thankful for — not only her life, but for the men of Orange County Fire Authority who saved it.

During American Heart Month, Gavshon wanted to bestow the OCFA paramedics with special certificates of recognition, aptly titled "Certificates of Heroism from the Sudden Cardiac Arrest."

One of her first responders recalled the event, and how the boys and father had gone next door to go swimming.

"The oldest decided to come home, to check on his mom who wasn't feeling well. That son found his mother in dire condition, and contacted his father then called 911," Orange County Fire Authority-Irvine paramedic-firefighter Brian Troutman said. "If he hadn't come back to the house and found her, it could have been a different story."

Instead, during the medical emergency call in August, 2016, Orange County Fire Authority paramedics found the 45-year-old Gavshon in sudden onset cardiac arrest.

Different than a heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest is when the heart stops beating, unexpectedly. Rather than a circulation problem, cardiac arrest is an "electrical" problem, according to the American Heart Association.

Within minutes of her sudden cardiac arrest, paramedics were able to perform lifesaving measures with their cardiac monitor, re-stimulating her heart, regaining her pulse. The family stayed in touch with OCFA during her recovery process, sending pictures and notes of their mother in intensive care and beyond.

Small in stature but huge in appreciation, Gavshon glowed under the attention of the OCFA paramedic firefighters who came to accept their certificates.

"Thank you from the bottom of my still-beating heart," she said, "Only made possible by you, my first responders."

Gavshon thanked Orange County Firefighters Jeffrey Kirkman, Brian M. Troutman, Aaron R. Lee and Matthew De Los Cobos, as well as City of Irvine police officer Tin Truong.

"When we arrived she was unconscious and wasn't breathing," Lee said. "At that point, to look at someone in that condition and assess that she is a younger woman in apparently good health, we used our cardiac monitor and initially that first shock did not yield results, the second time we saw that she had a pulse and we were able to assist her to getting back to the way she is now."

Lee showed a picture and portions of cards and letters from the Gavshon family that hang on the station wall.

Her survival, and the survival of other cardiac arrest victims, is remembered by those who saved her, certificate or not. Still, Gavshon wanted to include them on her journey toward healing.

"They came so quickly and acted so quickly," she said. "They saved my life."

Sudden cardiac arrest is the nation's leading cause of death, killing nearly 300,000 Americans each year, according to the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association.

"Immediate bystander assistance in the form of CPR and shocks administered from an automated external defibrillator (AED) are the only ways to survive SCA," the association said. For more information, visit: www.heart.org