Geneva heart attack victim finally meets 5 men who saved him at fitness club
“It's nice to meet you. Looking good,” Adam Stander said Thursday, giving a businesslike handshake to Jason Sandquist in the lobby of XSport Fitness in St. Charles.
They had met before, but Sandquist, of Geneva, doesn't remember it.
It happened March 30, when Stander and four other men saved Sandquist's life.
“You put me in the 5 percent of people who live” after suffering sudden cardiac arrest, he told them Thursday.
The collapse
On March 30, 38-year-old Sandquist was exercising under the guidance of a trainer, Alvalon Hansana of Elgin, in the basketball gymnasium of the fitness center. They had just finished doing squats, and Sandquist was taking a drink and thanking Hansana for the workout.
Suddenly, Sandquist made a funny sound and collapsed, Hansana said. “I just thought he was passing out” from the exertion, Hansana said.
He shook Sandquist, but, “Oh crap, his face was turning blue,” Hansana recalled saying. He yelled for help and started resuscitation.
Help came running from all over the center: fitness manager Wes Campbell of Wood Dale, general manager Matt Canela of Palatine, assistant general manager Kyle Warford of St. Charles, and St. Charles resident Stander, a former law enforcement officer exercising there.
Warford operated an automated external defibrillator; Stander joined Hansana in performing CPR; the others called 911 and controlled the scene.
They shocked Sandquist twice, and his heart returned to a more normal rhythm. Paramedics took Sandquist to Delnor Hospital.
Hansana then went to an employee break room. And cried. It was the first time he had performed CPR, and he was afraid he had caused the heart attack by pushing Sandquist to exercise too hard.
Recovery
Doctors discovered one of Sandquist's arteries was more than 70 percent blocked. He spent a week in intensive care.
Also, he said he learned in the hospital he had suffered a heart attack five days earlier, on a Wednesday night. Sandquist said he felt tired, nauseous and “funky” for three days, but he thought he had the flu. He felt better on Sunday and good enough to return to the gym on Monday.
And, he stressed, he never felt any pain, the classic sign of a heart attack.
That he has heart disease doesn't surprise him. Although he is not overweight and has been exercising at the gym for at least four years, he has a family history of heart disease. His mother died of a heart attack at age 42 and a grandfather died of a heart attack at 49.
Calling himself an “optimist,” Sandquist said he didn't worry much about it, especially since he was trying to get in shape.
“I think a lot of us, with our family histories and our health histories, kind of push it to the back of our minds,” he said.
Sandquist doesn't remember the incident. He remembers entering the fitness center, then waking up at the hospital and, disoriented, fighting with nurses to get out of bed and go home.
His doctor says Sandquist may be able to resume regular exercise in July. He is taking part in a cardiac rehabilitation program at Delnor. And since his cardiac arrest was partly electrical, he is wearing an external defibrillator that will shock him if it senses his heart's rhythm is askew.
He is also changing his eating habits, reducing sodium and fat intake so he can lower his cholesterol. It is tough given his jobs: “I'm the manager of a steakhouse, and a part-time pastry chef,” said Sandquist, who is general manager of The Ivy restaurant in Wheaton.
Timing key
Warford stressed that quick action was key to the effort, crediting Hansana.
“That was crucial. In a situation like that, to act so quickly ... ” Warford said. “Timing is everything.”
Stander said it was the first time he's seen a portable AED used successfully.
And all stressed it was a team effort.
“I think that is why you are here, because everybody had some kind of expertise or role in contributing to the overall outcome, Warford said.
“There are really no words to say how grateful I am,” Sandquist replied.