Cardiac arrest survivors' gathering in Thousand Oaks celebrates lives saved by CPR

They were all saved by others — a bystander, a family member, first responders — after a cardiac arrest. The youngest was 5 months old when it happened.

Most were brought back by hands-only CPR.

On Wednesday evening, about 25 survivors and a network of supporters, more than 150 people in all, gathered at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the hospital's Cardiac Arrest Survivor Support Group. Family members, doctors, nurses, paramedics and firefighters from Ventura and Los Angeles counties attended.

Debbie Licht-Mayer, a retired Los Robles emergency room nurse who started the support group, traveled from Connecticut to take part in Wednesday's reunion.

"I was the nurse that helped resuscitate that little baby at 5 months when I worked in the ER," Licht-Mayer said before the event. The young survivor, Tommy Anthony, now 15, got to meet some of the first responders and the care team who saved his life.

Licht-Mayer, who has continued running the support group remotely as an independent contractor, said she saw the need to assist both survivors and their families following such a traumatic incident. The hospital had support groups for other patients, such as those with cancer. But for people going home after a cardiac arrest, there was nothing, she said. Licht-Mayer and Anne Toyama, a cardiac rehab nurse at Los Robles, work together on the effort.

Before the pandemic, the support group met in person every month. The hospital provided a meal and speakers from a variety of specialties: psychologists, nutritionists, cardiologists, exercise physiologists. Hundreds of survivors of all ages have come through the group, Licht-Mayer said.

Powerful stories typically bind survivors and those who saved them. Hands-only CPR is a common thread.

One survivor was 32 when he had cardiac arrest, Licht-Mayer said.

"He was dead for 40 minutes" while CPR was performed, Licht-Mayer said of Ryan Sevy, now 42 and a fourth-grade teacher. Sevy came from the Sacramento area with his wife and three young children to share his account during the reunion.

Some survivors have helped others. One was at a restaurant when someone had cardiac arrest in front of him. The survivor and a friend provided CPR for 17 minutes until medics arrived and saved the person's life.

Another time, one of the hospital's night shift nurses, Claire Gillette, went to a hot yoga class where a woman had cardiac arrest. Gillette started CPR, saving the woman's life, Licht-Mayer said. Gillette and the woman, Erika Cole, now 46, both attended.

Such personal stories are part of the hospital's CPR outreach, with survivors sharing tales during educational events at local schools, Rotary Clubs, churches and malls. Thousands of people have been taught hands-only CPR through the hospital's presentations.

"Without it, they wouldn't be here," Licht-Mayer said of CPR. "Survivors go out with us and tell their stories. It's a part of their healing, by giving back."

Because the group has met remotely since the pandemic, some participants were meeting in person for the first time Wednesday, she said.

Natalie Mussi, CEO of Los Robles Health System, said in a statement that spreading awareness about the importance of hands-only CPR as a way to improve cardiac arrest outcomes has been Los Robles' passion for decades.

“These brave survivors have been an inspiration to our care team and a reminder that the work we do each and every day is lifesaving," Mussi said.

Licht-Mayer noted that CPR outreach efforts had lost momentum during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This was like a shot in the arm, to get this back in front of people," she said of the reunion on Thursday as she prepared to return to Connecticut. "It was absolutely magical."

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Cardiac arrest survivors' gathering in Thousand Oaks touts CPR