My name is Vincent Bitusus, I am 38 years old.
On Saturday December 3, 2016, the Filipino Basketball League had their season opener tournament at Holy Cross High School. At 2 pm my team played their first game. I am a forward on the team. Three minutes into the game, I was looking for my opponent and my vision started to turn blurry, that is the last thing I remember.
My friends have told me what happened after my last memory. I collapsed on the court and turned blue, my body went rigid, I was foaming at the mouth and my eyes rolled back in my head. Thankfully there were many spectators at the tournament and some of them were trained in 1st aid and CPR as well as in AED use. Three people assessed my condition, I was not breathing and had no pulse. They started CPR, and did four rounds of breaths and compressions but they could not revive me. The lady leading the rescuers was an off duty nurse, and she called for an AED, thankfully the school had one. They hooked up the AED and the machine instructed them to administer a shock, and then another. After the second shock, people said my color came back and I opened my eyes and I began to question what had happened.
An ambulance had been called and Paramedics arrived after I woke up. I was transported to RUH and after four days and many tests, an angiogram found that my main coronary artery was 99% blocked. A stent was put into my heart and my road to recovery began.
Thank God for AEDs. It's what saved my life.
