When Irish Eyes Are Smiling: The Colleen O'Sullivan Law

The Colleen O’Sullivan Law is about a girl…well, named just that. She grew up in Tinley Park. She graduated from Andrew High Sschool, earned her degree in political science from St. Mary’s in Notre Dame Indiana, continued on to John Marshall Law School, where she received her JD, and finally finishing her LLM in Health Law at Loyola University, Chicago. She was a healthcare attorney at Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold.

Colleen was a relative of mine as well as my best friend. We were so close, we considered ourselves sisters. Our bond was like we were twins.

In 2002, Colleen was working out at a health club in downtown Chicago, training for the Chicago Marathon with a personal trainer. She went into cardiac arrest. They panicked and pretty much only managed to call 911. No one started CPR; no one got an AED (if there was one)? And all they managed to do was hold her hand, and wait for the EMS to arrive. By the time they did show up, and started working on her, well the odds were seriously stacked against her. Your brain can only go without oxygen for approximately 4-6 minutes before serious, irreversible brain damage begins. Let’s just say, Colleen was way beyond that time frame. She remained in the hospital for about 2 weeks before she eventually passed away…and part of me went with her.

She was only 30 years old when her life was drastically cut short due to a lack of an AED in her health club, and it didn’t have to happen that way. Let me tell you, there is nothing more profound than holding your best friend’s hand when you were young, and holding your best friend’s hand in their final moments of life.

The Colleen O’Sullivan Law was created in her honor by family and friends that refused to accept the status quo. Shortly after her death, we started working on legislation to prevent this from happening again. To get this bill turned into a law was a very long and arduous battle. Many arguments and tears were involved in the making of this piece of legislation, because it was so personal. It was even vetoed by our soon-to-be-incarcerated governor, and we were forced to go back to the drawing board. With all that being said, I learned a very valuable lesson:

Just because you think something is fundamentally right, doesn’t mean the Legislators in Springfield are going to fall in line behind you.

Springfield truly is another planet, and there were times that I seriously wondered how some of these politicians could sleep at night. But as my sister said to me, “Lynne, maybe this is your calling…helping others”. Let me tell you, the return is greater than the investment, and if I could do this full time, all the time, I would.

After the bill was vetoed, I took my anger and went back to work. This time we pulled in the big guns, and I called in favors from the Village of Tinley Park, Orland Park, Frankfort, Downers Grove, Hillside, Glenview, City of Chicago Police and Fire, The Chicago Bulls and the Blackhawks, and some good friends from the NYPD, and United Airlines, who all made phone calls, and sent letters on our behalf. Colleges and Universities were voicing their support and who hasn’t seen on the news, or read in the paper of some athlete dropping on the field or court.

In 2004, the Colleen O’Sullivan Law was enacted on the books and little did we realize that this law created in her name was able to save so many lives. We were the first state in the nation to enact this type of legislation, with pretty much all of them following suit, in some version or another. As a matter of fact, places are considered a liability/risk if they don’t have an AED.

Sudden Cardiac arrest can strike anyone, anywhere-and when it does, a victim’s chance of survival depends on the people around them. Fast recognition, calling 911, immediate CPR, and use of an AED can double-or even triple a victim’s chance of survival. This is the Colleen O’Sullivan Law.

Thursday was the nine year anniversary of her death. I miss her laugh and her smile, and I guess I just miss my friend. I can remember that time as though it happened only yesterday. And, sometimes I get so consumed in the cause, I get lost, and I have to remind myself that all this hard work won’t bring her back…that’s how dedicated I am to this issue. I will say though, great things always seem to happen around this time of year due to/or because of this law. I think its Colleen’s way of making sure that we never forget her. Case in point; as recently as last week, Metra has agreed to equip all their trains with AEDs, and that is HUGE! Thank you Metra!

So, for every AED you see hanging on the wall of your school, health club, airport, office, park district, or public building, there is a face and a story, and it’s also a testament to Colleen and her love of life!