When Kim’s heart stopped, her son and a rescue team rushed to help

For Kim Mannila, timing was everything.

On July 29, 2021, Mannila was helping her son, Chad Wilczek, prepare his new home for a surprise birthday party when her heart suddenly stopped beating. She was vacuuming less than an arm’s reach from her son when she collapsed.

“I tried talking to her, tried shaking her, with no response,” Wilczek said. He waited a few seconds to see if his mom would come to, then called 911 and began to perform CPR.

A quick response time is essential for people who suffer sudden cardiac arrest, which is different than a heart attack. A heart attack happens when built-up plaque blocks an artery supplying blood to the heart muscle. Sudden cardiac arrest occurs when an electrical problem causes the heart to stop beating altogether.

Just weeks before his mom collapsed, Wilczek passed a four-week Emergency Medical Response (EMR) course as part of his application for the Minnesota State Patrol. Thanks to this training, he was able to remain calm and provide compressions and rescue breaths with coaching from a 911 dispatcher.

At 60 compressions, the front door burst open and an Anoka County Sheriff’s deputy rushed into the house. The deputy took over CPR. He asked Wilczek to find and prepare his automated external defibrillator (AED). Because of his training, Wilczek was able to set up the device. Together, they administered a shock to his mother’s heart, then went back to CPR. Within a minute, the Linwood Fire Department team arrived, followed by an M Health Fairview EMS team.

Acting quickly, the team used a mechanical chest compression device called a LUCAS to restart Mannila’s heart and get her breathing again before rushing her to M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center for emergency care. Fortunately, the fire department and the EMS team had also just undergone training in the usage of a LUCAS device.

At the medical center, Mannila was put into a medically induced coma and her body cooled with ice packs for 24 hours to lower risk of brain damage. She doesn’t remember the first five days of her 16-day stay at the hospital but said she’s thankful for the care she received.

“By the grace of God, I’m here,” she said. “Everybody is part of the team. That started with my son and the emergency responders, to the hospital, to when I got home and my friends and neighbors.”

A few weeks ago, Mannila was able to meet the team that saved her life during the Linwood Fire Department’s weekly training session. They showed her how the LUCAS device worked, and she shook their hands and thanked them for their lifesaving care.

M Health Fairview Paramedic Jason Van Tassel was part of the emergency team that evening in July. The speed of the response was a crucial part of the outcome, he said. He also encouraged everyone to enroll in CPR training and keep up their certification.

“It takes the ambulance some time to get there,” Van Tassel said. “Knowing CPR, knowing what to do, identifying cardiac arrest early, and doing those chest compressions will save many, many lives.”

Wilczek also recommends taking CPR classes. The training is more than learning the technique, he said. It builds muscle memory, helps you learn how to set aside panic and think clearly during emergencies.

“Have it fresh in your mind because you don’t know when you’re going to use it,” Wilczek said. “Hopefully you never have to, but it’s a blessing that it happened the way that it did.”

For Mannila, the fact she survived is evidence of a larger plan. If she hadn’t been with her son, if the sheriff’s deputy hadn’t responded so quickly with the AED, and if the necessary training had taken place so recently, that night could have unfolded differently.

“God was working,” she said. “Everyone was in the right place at the right time.”