by Tim Baldi
Staff Writer
On April 28, Savannah, 20, was working with high school students at a Young Life event in Sweetwater, Tenn. While leading a game, Stroud passed out and her heart stopped beating for 15 minutes while high school student Sidney Hill, 18, performed CPR on her.
At first everybody thought it was a joke or part of a skit when Stroud fell, according to Hill, but when she did not get up and started turning blue, Hill checked her pulse and began CPR.
Hill had just completed CPR training 2 weeks before the event.
When an ambulance arrived on the scene, they resuscitated her using a defibrillator. Paramedics then drove Stroud to Sweetwater Hospital where they sedated her and flew her by LifeFlight medical helicopter to UT Medical Center in Knoxville.
Once she arrived at the Cardiovascular Unit of UT Medical Center, Stroud began her recovery. She awoke from her coma and began speaking in full sentences the day after her arrival. Although she has short-term memory loss of the event, Stroud suffers no long-term heart or brain damage from being in cardiac arrest.
“The Lord has been very good,” said Stroud.
Dozens of Bryan students, Young Life friends and family members visited Stroud while she recovered in the hospital. Stroud’s mother drove overnight from Burmingham, Louisianna where she had been visiting family when she heard about Stroud’s condition.
![Savannah Stroud poses with Dr. Mahlow. [Photo courtesy of Savannah Stroud]](/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/9.7.SavannahUpdate.ProvidedBy.sStroud.CIMG31271.JPG "[Photo courtesy of Savannah Stroud]")
On May 3, Stroud returned to her home in Lenoir City with her family.
On May 18, during a checkup at the hospital, the ICD incorrectly detected an arrhythmia in Stroud’s heart rate and gave her a shock.
“It felt like a lightning bold,” said Stroud.
Because she is younger and more agile than most patients receiving ICDs, Stroud’s implant came out of position and caused the ICD to give her the incorrect shock.
Doctors then performed surgery to put the ICD back into its correct place, and Stroud kept her left arm in a sling over the summer to secure the ICD and prevent another shock.
Because of her cardiac arrest, Stroud’s summer plans changed.
She had signed up to join the Acts Project for an internship in India over the summer, but her recovery prevented her from leaving the country.
Instead, she took the opportunity to spend time with family.
“I got to see how families work through crises,” Stroud said.
Her experience also gave Stroud opportunities to talk with people about life and death issues.
Stroud served at a Young Life Camp from May 31-June 7 where she mentored several high school girls, including Hill.
Since returning to Bryan, Stroud does not feel very different from other semesters.
“I’m excited to be back,” said Stroud, “I feel more thankful. “We always know God’s working, but I got to see God working in our lives.”