Savings Lives on Court

What would you pay to save your own life or that of a friend? For less than $2,000 any tennis facility can have ready access to an automated external defibrillator (AED) that has saved countless lives around the country.

“My wife just bought it!”

A tennis friend was playing a doubles tournament at a remote tennis site; but it started raining, so they had to move the match to an indoor tennis club.
While playing the indoor match, my friend suffered a heart attack. Someone retrieved the club’s new AED and “zapped” him with it … and today, he is back playing tournaments.
The back story? The heart attack victim’s wife had just bought the AED for the club to have!

Naples Lives Saved

Pelican Bay’s director of tennis has told me that the club’s AEDs have saved several lives when quickly used on court. According to the National Institute of Health, “We estimate that about 1,700 lives are saved in the United States per year by bystanders using an AED. Unfortunately, not enough Americans know to look for AEDs in public locations, nor are they are trained on how to use them.”

I am not a doctor, nor an AED supplier, but it seems like simple logic that ALL tennis (and other sports facilities) should have at least one of these life-saving devices on hand and someone trained to use it.

What are your thoughts/experiences?

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