Dentist's CPR refresher class helped him save his wife's life

When Dr. Timothy Aiossa and his dental practice staff attended a mandated CPR recertification lesson led by the Elmwood Park Fire Department in June, the 66-year-old joked that everyone had better pay attention: As the oldest one there, he'd need them to save him one day.

But one month later, it was Aiossa who put the CPR lesson to use - on his wife.

Debra Aiossa has a rare heart condition known as Romano Ward Syndrome that affects the heart's electrical system and can lead to erratic heartbeats. Early in the morning on July 11, the medication she took to keep her condition in check failed, causing her to suffer cardiac arrest and fall to the bedroom floor. Timothy realized what was happening, called 911 and started CPR.

"Everything they retaught to me came up identically in the situation as it had in the lesson," said Timothy Aiossa, who lives in Park Ridge. "The 911 operator was a superstar and kept me focused."

While Aiossa gave chest compressions to his unconscious wife, the 911 dispatcher kept him updated on how soon paramedics would arrive. When the first responders pulled up, Timothy yelled their garage door code to the dispatcher, who relayed it to the team.

"Then seven people walked into my bedroom, one gently moved me to the side and said 'I have this, sir,'" Timothy Aiossa said, recalling how the rescue crew moved in concert with one another. Two put an IV in Debra's arms while another with a surgical drill started another IV in her leg.

"They were not even talking to each other; everyone knew their job like you wouldn't believe," Aiossa said.

It took three tries with a defibrillator for Debra's heart resume pumping on its own. She was rushed to Advocate Lutheran General in Park Ridge, where she would stay in a coma for 13 days. Timothy rarely left her side, heading home only at 4 a.m. to shower, change and apply cologne. On the 13th morning, he returned to her room and bent down to kiss her good morning.

"And she looked over at me and said 'you're wearing that cheap cologne again,'" Timothy Aiossa said. "And she was right, I had worn the cheap stuff because it was handy. I went into a dance and crying like you wouldn't believe."

The couple's daughter, Samantha Aiossa, said every doctor and nurse in the cardiac intensive care unit deemed Debra a miracle.

"(Debra's doctor) repeatedly said that had my father not conducted CPR, she would not be with us today," Samantha said.

Her mother returned home after a month of physical therapy and has been in excellent health since.

For his crucial role in saving his wife, Timothy Aiossa will be given a lifesaving award by the Park Ridge Fire Department at the city council meeting Monday.

"I really don't want any award. My award wakes up next to me every day now," he said. "Truthfully, I want to give an award to the people who taught me CPR, the first responders, and the people at Lutheran General who saved my wife's life."

Timothy Aiossa gave a glowing recommendation to the CPR lesson his office received at the Elmwood Park Fire Department.

"It was the most interesting CPR class I've ever taken, and I've had to take around seven of them," he said. "The instructor didn't bore us with stats - he had graphic representations and kept us entertained throughout, but he taught us."

And Debra is living proof of that.

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