CATASAUQUA, Pa. — A Catasauqua woman took the time Tuesday to thank the first responders in her community after they helped to save her life nearly a year ago.
Quick action from both her husband and first responders saved Catasauqua mother Katie Young’s life on March 24, 2023.
At an event at the Catasauqua Fire Department, she took the time to say “thank you” to Northampton Regional EMS, Catasauqua police and fire and the care at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute, who she said gave her a second chance.
Young said that she and her husband, Adam, put their kids down for a nap before "we sat down to watch TV and he said I looked at him and said I felt lightheaded and just like that I lost consciousness."
"He actually thought I was going into a seizure and I was actually having a cardiac arrest,” Young said.
Adam Young said his wife “slowly turned her head at me and said, 'I feel lightheaded.' And in a split second she freezed up and her eyes rolled in the back of her head.
"Her mouth closed shut. I couldn't open up her mouth, her entire body went plank on me. Right while I was on the phone with 911, my wife went limp, pale, and stopped breathing.
"So I picked her up, I laid her on the ground and I started giving CPR."
Team springs into action
Katie Young said the team sprang into action with life-saving techniques.
Paramedic Mark Lehman of Northampton Regional EMS responded to the call.
"When we arrived on scene, Katie was on the floor where the fireman was performing CPR on her,” Lehman said. “I wish the survival rates were higher, but with the fact that people do start CPR earlier, it does increase that possibility."
"The fact that Katie is still with us today speaks volumes."Dr. Sergio Cossu, cardiologist, Lehigh Valley Health Network
Dr. Sergio Cossu, a cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network, said the chances of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are dismal — less than 5 to 10%.
"So the fact that Katie is still with us today speaks volumes,” Cossu said.
He said Young “came in with a very lethal arrhythmia from the ventricles, cardiac arrest related to some abnormal heart rhythms that she was having kept on going into incessant cardiac arrest."
Cossu said the cause of the condition is unknown. Katie Young was an otherwise healthy mom of a 3-year-old and 6-month-old.
“I've always been healthy," Katie Young said. "I'm very active. I work out. I've never really even been to the doctor for literally anything.
"So for this to happen was a shock to all of us because it just absolutely came out of nowhere.”
'It's gonna be OK'
Katie Young shared her feelings about living through a life-threatening situation.
"It's emotional," she said. "It feels good to know that, you know, I'm glad these people do what they do for a living, you know, I shouldn't be here right now and I am.
“Grateful and blessed is almost like an understatement."Katie Young
“Grateful and blessed is almost like an understatement. It almost sounds cliché to say, but there's a reason. There's a reason why I'm here and if that's to, you know, promote what the signs and symptoms are, go to the doctor, get checked or just to get CPR certified.”
Young said her symptoms leading up to the episode included shortness of breath, lightheadedness and dizziness.
“Those are all signs that could be potentially signs for abnormal heart rhythms,” Cossu said.
Adam Young said, “It's amazing that I'm able to stand here with my wife and my kids.
"It's amazing that my wife is still here to see her kids grow up but also see everyone that put their all in to keep her alive and to keep her healthy and breathing."
Katie Young credited her husband's knowledge of CPR with helping keep her alive while waiting for EMS.
She now has a cardioverter defibrillator to avoid a similar situation, but is back to living a normal life with her family.
She even has a scar to prove it — something she said her daughter likes to point out every now and again.
"She'll look at me and she'll see the scar and she's like, 'Oh, that's Mommy's boo boo, but it's all better.'
"So she knew something wasn't right, but we kept reassuring her that it's gonna be OK."
