This Thanskgiving season, we’re thankful for all the organizations that have donated automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to their communities and for all the businesses, schools, agencies, and organizations that have installed them.

We’re thankful for all the supervisors and administrators who have authorized AED and CPR training for staff and volunteers—and for all the people who have taken these classes. They’ll be able to help family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and complete strangers in the event of a cardiac emergency.

Here are just a few examples of the hundreds of reasons why we’re giving thanks this year:

An AED was there at the ballgame

“My life was saved because of close proximity and people (who) knew what they’re doing,” Charles Trimble recalls. “They had availability of a defibrillator really close. It was just really, really, really critical timing.”

Pittsburgh Pirates staff and a local doctor helped save Charles after his cardiac arrest at a game in August.

Baseball fan saved at PNC park (Click for video)

An AED was there at the airport

Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Illinois, invested in 23 automated external defibrillators and donated them to organizations throughout the community in early August. Five days after it was installed, the AED donated to Quincy Airport was used to save a life.

Lisa Wiewel, a federal Transportation Security Administration officer, was called out of the airport when a man was discovered unconscious in his car in the airport parking lot. While staff called 911, Wiewel grabbed the newly installed defibrillator. Following the device’s voice prompts, she attached defibrillator pads to the victim’s chest. The AED  delivered two shocks, and Wiewel and a Quincy police officer at the scene took turns administering CPR. The victim was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he later recovered.

Dr. Richard Saalborn, medical director of Blessing’s Emergency Center, told the press that the man would have died if Wiewel had not used the AED.

Wiewel, who later received a Hero Award for the rescue, gave credit to airport administrators for arranging CPR training for TSA workers and airport staff. You can read more about the airport rescue here.

Using AEDs, heroes like Wiewel are saving lives at fitness centers, football games, on college campuses, in high school gyms, and at pools. It gives us a lot to be thankful for.

Related Products

• Powerheart AED G3 Plus
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• Sad stories, avoidable deaths? - March 23rd, 2011
• Texas school's AED saves 6-year-old's life - March 22nd, 2011