Video Source: CBS News
Source: Eden Prairie Local News
Sudden Cardiac Arrest at Miller Park
On a sunny afternoon, Oct. 7, Rory Bakke and Sundari “Sunny” Saengdara sat side by side on a bench near the Miller Park pickleball courts – the same place where, just 10 days earlier, he went into sudden cardiac arrest during a game.
Saengdara, 25, is a registered nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee who also works in pediatric home care. That training, Bakke said, likely saved his life.
“Just how incredible she is,” Bakke said when asked what he’d like to stress about that day. “That’s pretty much it. She knew exactly what to do in that moment. And like she said before, every second really counts in a situation like that. I’m so lucky I came out the way I did – without any brain damage.”
Advanced First Aid, a Minneapolis-area company owned by longtime paramedic Paul Mendoza, installed the Miller Park unit outside the pickleball courts in September – the courts had opened in June.
The AED sits in a SaveStation – a temperature-controlled outdoor cabinet that monitors the device, can alert city staff when service is needed, and is designed for year-round public access.
“When I heard what happened, it brings tears to my eyes,” Mendoza said. “I see this probably once a month, but it still gets me. The save is huge, but what really gets emotional is hearing it from people like Sunny. She saw her boyfriend go from being gone to being back, and she’s just so thankful. That’s what really hits you.”
Mendoza said his firm has installed nearly 60 SaveStations around Minnesota – in parks, schools, and public spaces – and called the Miller Park rescue the first confirmed SaveStation save in the metro area.
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