Survivor thanks teen who saved his life as Newmarket outdoor AED unveiled

Yorkregion.com
August 4, 2020

At the Newmarket unveiling of one of Canada’s first outdoor defibrillators July 29, George Padanyi stood beside the teenager who saved his life last fall.

While playing shinny with his friends at the Sharon Arena, he collapsed from cardiac arrest.

Scorekeeper Raychel Gilles, 17, was the only one there who knew what to do.

After checking that Padanyi had no pulse, she started performing chest compressions and used the automatic external defibrillator AED until paramedics arrived.

Inspired by quick-thinking actions of Gilles, the 11- to 13-year-old players of the Peewee Orange Crush team set a goal of raising $20,000 to install outdoor SaveStations defibrillators in Newmarket and Aurora.

The Newmarket AED was unveiled at busy Riverwalk Commons beside the stage, while one is now being installed at Aurora’s Town Park.

Standing beside Gilles at the Newmarket event, an emotional Padanyi, who is feeling well after undergoing a quadruple bypass, said he’s grateful to her for saving his life.

“All I can say is. 'I have a lot to be thankful for.' What do you say to the person who saved your life? Thank you is not enough. She’s amazing,” he said.

“There’s a huge need for (AEDs) outside because there’s a lot of athletics going on or just people walking by. It’s a great thing and they work. It’s a great thing that the girls are doing and have done.”

Gilles is also pleased with the new SaveStation.

“It’s amazing. I’m so proud of these girls,” she said.

“It’s very inspiring to know that I did something like this.”

Excited to have spearheaded the campaign for outdoor AEDs in Newmarket and Aurora, Orange Crush manager Trish Murphy said the team is challenging businesses to sponsor more SaveStations.

With tens of thousands of people passing through Riverwalk Commons every year, Mayor John Taylor said the AED is welcome in one of the busiest places in town.

“I want to thank the Orange Crush,” he said.

“This is really inspirational. You’re doing something that’s meaningful that’s almost certainly going to save a life one day and you did it by working together and being a team and by saying you want to support your community and give back. And you did it based on the example of a young woman who did something amazing herself.”

This SaveStation lights up at night, is always ready for rescue and keeps the AED warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

About 40,000 people in Canada a year suffer cardiac arrest, with most incidents happening at home or in public away from a medical setting.

Only about 10 per cent survive but the immediate use of an AED along with CPR can increase chances of survival by 75 per cent.

Katrysha Gellis, an ambassador for SaveStation, shared her story of going into cardiac arrest two weeks after her 30th birthday while out for lunch with colleagues.

Fortunately, paramedics on a nearby call delivered two shocks to her heart with an AED and saved her life.

She is calling for more AEDs in public spaces.