| Project TJ |
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 TJ
Quinnell’s Story |
| Sudden Cardiac Arrest |
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 Richard Quinnell, TJ’s dad, tells the story about how his son served 400 barbequed chicken meals to the homeless at Dorothy’s Place in Salinas as part of his Eagle Scout project and how he held car washes to buy the chicken and organized his family and friends to help him.
That was Veteran’s Day in 2000. Three months later, TJ suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during his physical education class at North Monterey County High School that left the bright, energetic teenager, now 19, in a Level III coma, or a persistent vegetative state.
TJ’s family—his dad, his stepmother Debra and his mother, Sunny Johansson—are sharing TJ’s story with Salinas Valley Memorial’s HeartSave Program. Through a Children’s Miracle Network (CMN) of SVMHS grant, “Project TJ” makes an automatic external defibrillator (AED) available to each high school in Monterey County. An AED automatically analyzes the heart rhythm, administers an electric shock if necessary and defibrillates the heart. “This program will make our schools safer for our kids,” says CMN Director Kendra Howell.
Quinnell believes his son would be okay today if an AED unit had been available to him the day he collapsed. “As his family, we’ll speak to PTA groups and lobby the California State Legislature to mandate AEDs in the schools. We’d like to have TJ’s story on national television to give the issue of AEDs in schools widespread exposure. We’d do all of this and more. Our problem is finding time and energy,” Quinnell says.
 TJ’s three parents are his primary caregivers, along with help from nursing staff. TJ spends Sunday evenings through Friday afternoons with his mom and younger sister, Miranda, in Ben Lomond. He attends special education classes at Soquel High School in the Santa Cruz School District and requires full-time nursing assistance throughout the school day. His dad picks TJ up from home on Fridays evenings and he stays with his dad and stepmom until Sunday evenings. “Sunny likes to say that TJ’s three parents and two households are structured much like a three-legged stool, which is very stable and balanced,” Quinnell says.
Immediate access to an AED saves lives
The national survival rate from sudden cardiac arrest is under 7 percent. Areas that have implemented AED programs have a survival rate as high as 50%.*
* Source: www.americanheart.org |
TJ’s healthcare needs are demanding and expensive. Lifetime 24-hour care for him is estimated at more than $10 million. TJ has no voluntary movement and is on a number of medications. His tracheotomy tube needs suctioning. He must be exercised, bathed by hand twice a day, and turned every two hours to avoid pressure sores. Nutrition is delivered through a gastrointestinal tube. He has catheter and bowel routines. He has no cognitive responses.
“Rather than rail against this, I try to envision what would be the good of this. I have to think it has a
purpose. Our loss of TJ is an opportunity for him to give himself for someone else. Instead of being just a tragedy, it’s also a sacrifice if it can be used to save other children,” Quinnell says. “When someone says, ‘How can you do this,’ our response is ‘How could we not!’” |
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Tell me again, what is an AED?
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a device used to deliver an electric shock to a person’s heart after sudden cardiac arrest. The AED provides voice and/or visual prompts to guide the operator through the process. A microprocessor inside the AED instantly analyzes the person’s heart rhythm and advises the operator whether or not a shock is needed. Learning to use an AED is easy. Salinas Valley Memorial offers the American Heart Association’s Heartsaver AED Course, a three-hour program that combines instruction in the use of the AED with another lifesaving technique, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). For more information on the AED or the training classes, please contact Liz Lazar, HeartSave Program Coordinator for Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System at 759-1825.
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