CARES Annual Report 2017 | 7 Life After OHCA—The Chain of Survival Goes Full Circle Undoubtedly sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) has changed both Rick and Jennifer. On that fateful morning, they were completely unaware of SCA and that it can happen to a seemingly healthy person. Thankfully Rick survived. But as they now know, 9 out of 10 OHCA victims do not survive and will never come home. The impact on their families is devastating. For Rick, it all came down to a “purrfect” chain of survival starting with one hero, a cat named Buddy. Today the Chaps are driven by a mission to help save more lives from SCA in whatever way they can. • Within months of Rick’s SCA, the Chaps shared their story at an Orlando City Council meeting to thank and advocate for the Orlando Fire Department. This helped inspire the city’s “Take Heart Orlando” program, which has the goal of training every Orlando citizen in CPR. The program is now in its 5 th year and the Chaps volunteer as CPR instructors. • They founded BuddyCPR to encourage everyone to “learn CPR with a buddy” since most sudden cardiac arrests happen at home. You need a buddy—there’s no such thing as do-it-yourself CPR. • They are volunteers and advisors with Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation where they use their marketing experience to conduct national public awareness and messaging studies, and created a “Together We Can Save More Lives” PSA video. • And they participate in Telephone CPR workshops, sharing the caller’s perspective with EMS providers. The Chaps are filled with incomprehensible gratitude and are thankful to live in a community that recognizes the importance of a complete system of care for OHCA from highly trained EMS, to CPR programs, to hospitals with advanced post cardiac arrest care. And because of this, they’re able to “make memories that may not have been.” Rick is living proof that CPR and an integrated system of care works. Rick Chap, SCA survivor, Jennifer Chap TCPR lay rescuer, and Buddy the hero cat, who alerted Jennifer that Rick was in cardiac arrest. Seated in Orlando Fire Department’s Tower 6, which was on scene for Rick’s code save on 2/27/12. (Photo by Dan Beckmann)