Last September, JJ Dunn woke up in the middle of the night after hearing a suspicious sound. He found his stepson, Jake, then 13 years-old, on the floor next to his bed. Dunn had only ever seen CPR on television; he had never had any kind of formal training. But his adrenaline kicked in and he began compressions as he called for his wife to dial 911.
Jake, now 14-years old and about to begin his freshman year of high school, is one of many survivors of cardiac arrest. Sadly, this wasn’t his first medical emergency. When he was six, he suffered a stroke during a heart procedure. Doctors determined that the cause of this episode was because one side of his heart had become bigger, which was forcing it to work harder. Yet, as daunting as all of this sounds to a 14-year old, Jake seems to have a very mature and optimistic view of his condition and the future. While some kids aspire to be pro-athletes or action stars, Jake hopes to create and launch his own clothing line, aptly named “LTR: Long Term Recovery”, and donate profits to charity.
