I created this blog to share with you some of my fun experiences from the many Weddings and Special Events I do every year. If you only have time to read a little bit, you can always click on the favorites link to the right to read my favorite postings. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Survivor

Ken is a fish. Okay, let me re-phrase that. Ken loves to swim. Yeah, that's better. In fact, he has a swimming family. Ken and both of his brother's swam in college. All 3 of his kids (Christina, Brandon, and Stephen) have All-American status in swimming. Ken himself has National and World Records for his class. It is very impressive. I've never met someone so passionate about swimming. You'd never think that someone in such prime, physical condition would have a heart attack. But Ken did have a heart attack...in the pool at Stanford.

Fortunately for him, there were doctors and trained medical staff all around the pool and they saved his life. Expert diagnosis and care at Stanford Hospital led to a procedure that placed 5 stents around his heart to open several blockages due to Advanced Coronary Artery Disease. His friends and family were shocked that this could happen to him but obviously relieved that he was given a second chance. So that's what this party was about...a celebration of life. It was an opportunity to celebrate his second chance. Here is a beautiful photo of Ken with his wife Maureen and their children on the beach in Hawaii.
About 80 of Ken's closest friends and family were there to celebrate with him. It was a wonderful night of friendship, music, and food. As I introduced Ken to the guests, I surprised him by playing the theme from the TV Show "Survivor". That put a big smile on his face. Two of the people who helped save Ken's life were in attendance as well and Ken honored them and gave them gifts as a thank you. And to make sure everyone was prepared in case something happened in the future, Ken had the guys give a mini CPR presentation. It was a very nice evening and a strong reminder for everyone in attendance that life is precious.
Posted by Rich Amooi at 8:59 AM

2 comments:

  1. Tinygami10:45 AM

    What a fantastic story! Fantastic that Ken survived because he was surrounded by some of the top medical staff in the world and that he used the opportunity of his celebration to help educate more people about how to perform CPR.

    Recently the nephew of a friend broke his neck in a swimming accident at a lake in Washington state. His two friends, who were both certified, performed CPR for 40 minutes until a life flight helicopter arrived. The hospital told his parents that even with CPR Robert's chances of surviving the accident had been at best 15%. Without the CPR he would have died for sure.

    We should all know how to perform CPR. Imagine if one day you could save the life of a family member, friend or a complete stranger. An amazing opportunity to do something heroic could happen any day at any time.

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  2. Rich Amooi11:00 AM

    Hi Flirty Girl,

    Yes, it was an incredible story and very cool that he took the time to educate others about CPR.

    Thanks so much for sharing the story of your friend's nephew. That's amazing that they did CPR for 40 minutes. Wow! It's true, you never know when you may have to perform it yourself so it would be wise to do a little research on how to perform CPR or take a class just in case. Take care.

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