Quick-thinking trainers save Wheaton man's life

Tom Williamson had been living with the threat of heart disease for much of his adult life.

His father died from a heart attack at age 59.

So the 63-year-old Wheaton resident never smoked, rarely drank alcohol and tried to keep active. In fact, Williamson says he was feeling fine about 5 a.m. April 13 when he arrived at the Wheaton Community Center for one of his daily walks.

Still, Williamson suffered a massive heart attack during that two-mile walk, falling face first on the center's indoor track.

Fortunately for Williamson, he had something his father didn't: Kristina Emma and Michelle Glover.

The two personal trainers with the Wheaton Park District used one of the center's automatic defibrillators to resuscitate Williamson, who then was taken by paramedics to Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield. Now he is on the path to recovery.

Last week, Williamson and his wife, Janet, returned to the community center to personally thank Emma and Glover for their quick action.

"God was just gracious to want to save me," Williamson said as he stood near the spot he collapsed. "These are the two people that he used to save my life."

Glover and Emma say they simply did what they were trained to do.

When the pair found Williamson, he was lying face down on the ground. There was a pool of blood because he broke his nose when he fell.

While the situation was "very scary," Emma says she felt calm.

"We didn't freak out," she said. "We went straight to work."

Glover took charge of the situation. She cut off the two shirts Williamson was wearing and got him connected to the automatic defibrillator.

Unlike defibrillators used by firefighters and paramedics, automatic defibrillators determine on their own when they should be used. Glover said she simply followed the machine's voice commands that told her when to shock Williamson's heart. Just one attempt was needed to get Williamson's heart beating again.

While Williamson was still unconscious, paramedics from a nearby Wheaton fire station arrived to rush him to Central DuPage.

Examinations revealed that one of Williamson's arteries was 95 percent blocked. Doctors treated him by implanting a stent and a mini-defibrillator. Aside from short-term memory loss, Williamson is expected to make a full recovery.

Janet Williamson said her husband received excellent care at the hospital. Yet hearing that her husband had a heart attack was among her worst fears, she said.

"His father had a heart attack at 59," she said, adding her father died from a heart attack at age 64. "Somehow that was hanging over us all those years.

"His father had no one with him when it happened," Janet Williamson added. "He was alone at home. But Tom was here with people who were trained. So that's a big difference."

The fact that so many factors worked out in Williamson's favor isn't lost on him.

Williamson said he had always walked or run in the street when he exercised in the past. He had decided to use the indoor track in January only because it was more convenient.

"What if I had been walking out on the streets that day?" he said. "I would be dead."

Now he's making healthy changes to his diet and getting ready for his birthday in June.

During their meeting last week, Glover said she's impressed with how well Williamson is doing.

"It's amazing to see him now," she said. "He looks great. I don't think I would have recognized him."