Teen's Life Saved Thanks To Defribillator

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An Automated External Defribillator, or AED for short, helped save a local high schooler's life when he suffered from sudden cardiac arrest.
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When Mike Spillman walks the halls at Cannon Falls, he walks right past the machine that saved his life.

An AED - Automated External Defribillator - located right outside the gym.

"I can't really remember much from that night, though," Spillman said. "So all I can remember is walking in here and starting practice."

There's a reason he doesn't remember.

He collapsed in the middle of that off-season basketball practice, suffering sudden cardiac arrest.

"(I) just heard a big thud, big crash ... and looked over and Michael was lying on the court," Ross Peterson, a teacher at the school, said.

Spillman is here today because Peterson and a teammate performed CPR and sent another student to get the defilbrillator, which a rescue worker used to shock him back to life.

"If the AED wasn't there, I wouldn't be here," Spillman said. "I'd be dead."

More than a year later, Spillman's experience is the centerpiece of a high school league sponsored DVD called, "Anyone Can Save a Life" -- and the league itself has purchased eight AEDs to set up at tournaments.

The Xcel Center in St. Paul already has AEDs near the concourses. Plus another one closer to the court, in case a player collapses.

"We can't guarantee a response in three minutes unless we have one on the sidelines," said Jody Redman, of the High School League.

And when it comes to response times, Spillman will be the first to say how important every minute truly is.

"I'm here, I might as well spread the word and try and help other people," he said.

Spillman can't play basketball anymore because of all the running. But he is allowed to play baseball, and he plays it well.

He hit .345 as a third baseman this year for the Cannon Falls baseball team.