After returning from a vacation last night I received some very sad news - a local diagnostic radiologist and father of two young children had died suddenly.
I met Dr. Andrew P. Royster just once, at a local gathering/reading for the The Writers Studio. I participated in one of the program's writing workshops with Andrew's wife, Araxe.
I remember his friendliness, big smile and the compliments he gave to all the writers. I also vividly remember all the beautiful stories Araxe wrote about their relationship.
Andrew, who was a partner in Radiology Ltd., died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest on July 31. He was 42.
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A celebration of his life was held at Tohono Chul Park Aug. 6.
Andrew and Araxe's boys are 4 and 3.
The American Heart Association says fewer than 8 percent of the nearly 300,000 people each year who experience sudden cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive.
I first heard that statistic last year when I met the family of Steven M. Gootter.
Gootter died of sudden cardiac arrest in 2005, also at the age of 42. The Tucson entrepreneur's life ended without warning one morning while he was jogging with the family dog.
Like Andrew Royster, Steven Gootter was the father of two young children.
Gootter's family has since established the local Steven M. Gootter Foundation, which aims to save lives by defeating sudden cardiac death through increased awareness, education and scientific research.
Among other things, the foundation has donated automated external defibrillators, known as AEDS, to several local schools.
The AED is a simpler, portable, pillow-sized version of the defibrillator cart found in a hospital setting. Its purpose is to shock the heart into a normal rhythm after cardiac arrest.
Arizona does not mandate that schools have the devices on-site. One AED costs $1,000 to $3,000.
An AED plus chest-compression cardiopulmonary resuscitation will improve the odds of survival in someone who has suffered cardiac arrest.
There are three things to remember when someone suffers sudden cardiac arrest — call 911, turn on the AED and do chest-compression CPR.
Since Gootter's death, the foundation has raised more than $1 million to fund research projects and to create the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for the Prevention and Treatment of Sudden Cardiac Death at the University of Arizona's Sarver Heart Center.
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