4. Connecting with Survivors and Co-Survivors

Why seek connection?

One of the best things survivors and co-survivors can do after a sudden cardiac arrest is to connect with others who share a similar experience. Despite the fact that SCA is a leading cause of death in the US, most people don’t know what a cardiac arrest is, what causes it, or what treatments are available. As a result, the days, weeks, and months after an SCA can be a confusing and overwhelming time for both survivors and their families. Even if they couldn’t participate fully in the group yet, it would be helpful for them to know that there is a large community of people who have survived sudden cardiac arrest and who are willing to offer encouragement, support, and information.

In the article “Community for the win – how collective solutions help individual problems,” Maggie Wooll describes community simply as “a group of people with something in common.” Usually the shared factor is something like family, geography, faith, race, life stage, interest, hobby, or profession, but of course in our case the shared factor is a sudden cardiac arrest. Wooll believes that in order for people to form a true community, the people in the group must feel a “shared sense of trust, connection, and caring for one another.”

Where to seek connection?

Survivors and families receive an overwhelming amount of information during hospitalization and at discharge, but help in finding connections is often unavailable or forgotten. If you’re lucky, you might have a friend, or a friend of a friend, who has experienced sudden cardiac arrest, or perhaps you will meet someone in your cardiac rehabilitation group. Fortunately, it is now easier to make connections, both online and in person, via Facebook groups, websites for cardiac organizations, YouTube videos, and Zoom meetings. See the links below:

Facebook Groups:

Organizations and/or Websites for Survivors:

National Organizations:

What benefits do communities provide?

I read a number of articles about the benefits of community, and here are the ones I thought applied the most to survivors and co-survivors of SCA.

  1. Support:
    After SCA, it is easy for survivors and their families to feel alone and traumatized. It is a comfort to join a community where everyone shares a similar experience even if the situation is different for each person. I was reminded of the importance of this group support when the Buffalo Bills football player Damar Hamlin experienced a sudden cardiac arrest during a game last Sunday. The Facebook group for Sudden Cardiac Arrest Survivors lit up with posts from people whose trauma was triggered by seeing this event on television or hearing about it in the news. One person ended his post by writing something like: “Sending love and support to this young man and his family and to everyone who is feeling more vulnerable tonight.” Just knowing that I was one of many who were struggling made it somehow easier to breathe more deeply.
  2. Knowledge:
    Since no one person can know everything about sudden cardiac arrest, the SCA community provides a way to share information in a broad manner. While we don’t give medical advice to anyone in the group, we can describe our own cases so that others learn about options to discuss with their own medical providers. We can also share tips and advice on how best to adjust to life after a cardiac arrest. Each of us brings different ideas and perspectives to the experience of SCA, and we all approach it slightly differently.
  3. Inspiration:
    Before I retired, I taught at a liberal arts college in Minnesota, and one of the most rewarding parts of my job was seeing how students influenced one another in a positive way. One student would study abroad, do an independent study, or participate in an internship, and then the next year that student’s friends would decide to do something similar. I used to call it positive peer pressure, and I see this phenomenon in the SCA Facebook groups as well. When I hear about the ways survivors and their families are providing service to others by starting non-profits, teaching CPR, organizing fund-raising events, and much more, it makes me and others want to explore these opportunities as well. When I read about how people are recovering and taking good care of themselves, it makes me want to do so, too.
  4. Accountability:
    Being part of group is also helpful in providing some accountability. When we commit to doing better with recovery or providing service to others, then it is harder to do less or quit altogether we are involved with others in the group. For example, when I started this website, I knew that making an announcement in the Facebook group about the site would help me take my commitment more seriously.
  5. Connections:
    Connections with others are central to the human experience. The most important people in our lives come from our various communities, such as family, work, school, organizations, and more. As part of the SCA community, you have the chance to engage with others and they with you in an authentic way. These connections provide a feeling of belonging and make life enjoyable and meaningful.