A 17-year-old Saved by Classmates & the Shock of an AED

Meet Lindsay Hayden. Lindsay's life was saved on April 7, 2008 by her classmate, Cameron Durand and their school resource officer, Dan Mayer. Cameron and Dan were able to save Lindsay because they knew CPR and because Standley Lake High School had an AED.

Like any other school day, 17-year old Lindsay Hayden was in class just before noon when fellow students saw her gasp for air and suddenly collapse without warning. Lindsay stopped breathing and began turning blue. She was in cardiac arrest. Stunned and scared, many of her classmates weren’t sure what to do. Except Cameron Durand. A lifeguard, Cameron was trained in lifesaving skills and immediately jumped into action and began to administer CPR.

At the same time two other students alerted the school’s resource officer, Dan Mayer, who rushed to the scene with the school’s AED. After analyzing Lindsay’s heart the device notified Officer Mayer that a shock was needed. He shocked her heart but there was no response. The AED advised a second shock. This time her heart responded. Soon after, the paramedics arrived to transport her to the hospital.

The shock from that AED saved Lindsay’s young life.

It wasn’t luck that an AED was available that day. The device had been donated the previous year by Howard Lunger on behalf of The Dan Lunger Foundation. Dan Lunger was a Standley Lake junior and, ironically, Cameron Durand’s best friend, when he suffered sudden cardiac arrest in August 2006. Regrettably, an AED was not available and sadly, Dan did not survive.

The AED placed by his foundation did exactly what it was supposed to do—it prevented another family from suffering the same devastating loss as Dan’s family. 

Lindsay is now a Journalism Major at CSU. She also volunteers with Save A Life Denver and has become the face of this life-saving campaign. Way to go Lindsay.