Author: Tammy Lane • First Posted: Friday, November 06, 2009

For Bill Ward, a long-time custodian who suffered a massive heart attack at Cardinal Valley Elementary, every day is a little more precious now.

“The last thing I remember was going into the cafeteria to start working,” he said a few days after colleagues saved his life with an AED, or automated external defibrillator. “I’m really grateful to all the people who took good care of me.”

All schools and administrative buildings in Fayette County Public Schools are now equipped with AEDs. The district began installing them in phases about four years ago, finishing last summer. The high schools each have two or three devices because of the added risk among student-athletes – athletic trainers have portable AEDs with them at all times – and because of how the large buildings are laid out.

“You’ve got about three to four minutes to get them into action before you have severe heart damage or brain damage,” said Kelly Breeding, director of Risk Management and Safety.

The devices cost about $1,400 apiece, and the paddles must be replaced every two years at $100 per set.

“We spent this $100,000 and it’s paid for itself a thousand times over by saving one life,” Breeding said.

At Cardinal Valley, it was a typical day on lunch duty for guidance counselor Sherry Howard until she heard a commotion near the fifth-graders’ tables.

“I thought maybe he’d fallen,” she said, recalling how Ward was wedged between a table and seat. “He was gasping for air.”

After Howard and technology specialist Melissa Rakes lowered him to the floor, “I grabbed his Walkie Talkie and yelled for someone.” Students also went for help.

“Two kids came running into the main office and screamed ‘Call 9-1-1!’” said Principal Ivonne Beegle, who also summoned all CPR-certified staff over the P.A. system.

Physical education teacher Jeff Baxter was among the handful that assisted Ward. “The color in his face was bluish, almost purple. I checked his vital signs, and he had no pulse,” Baxter said.

The staffers, including a student nurse working that day, took turns doing CPR and shocked his heart twice before paramedics arrived. Thanks to their effective response, the 46-year-old Ward is on the mend.

“I’m glad they had the defibrillators and they knew what to do,” he said. “I don’t think I’d be here if they hadn’t taken care of business.”

The principal offered heartfelt praise for their efforts.

“I feel like they’re life savers. They responded quickly and did something in a split second that changed the outcome,” said Beegle, who also credited second-grade teacher Carol Perkins, Safe teacher Delbert Sloan and paraeducator Martin Jacobs.

“I’m glad we had people in the building who knew what they were doing,” Howard said.

So is Ward, who had one artery fully blocked and another with 80 percent blockage.

“They put a stent in my heart, and in about three weeks, I’ll go back and have another one put in,” he said after leaving Saint Joseph Hospital.

Beegle said things just aren’t quite the same at school without Ward, who has worked at Cardinal Valley for about 15 years.

“He’s an extremely dedicated gentleman,” she said. “You don’t realize how much somebody does until they’re not there. He keeps this building running like clockwork.”