FORTVILLE, Ind. – Two years after a Fortville man suffered a fatal heart attack while playing softball, his family hopes to raise enough money to continue donating defibrillators in order to save lives.
Brian Goff’s family believe if an AED was available, he may have survived.
"I don't know if that would have made a difference or not,” said Goff’s wife Linda. “I'll never know, but I do know that if one had been used, when I went to bed at night and laid my head on my pillow I would know that every bit of technology that is out there was made available to him that day. It may have made a difference. That alone would have given me a bit of peace."
While in Cincinnati for a softball tournament, 53-year-old Goff told his coach he needed to step out of the game as he wasn’t feeling well. About 10 minutes later he suffered a heart attack.
He survived for 12 hours, just long enough for his wife, daughter and son to arrive.
"After Brian died it was important to me and the family to get something good from his death,” said Linda.
According to the American Heart Association, if an AED is used within the first minute of sudden cardiac arrest, the survival rate increases by 90 percent.
The family started Brian’s Heart Inc., which donates AED machines to organizations. The latest donation made was to Brandywine Park, which costs about $1,225. Another AED was donated to Goff’s travel softball team.
"There was a person 60 years old on the team that was having chest pains and had it not been for the Circle City Playmaker Team we were the only ones that had the AED and they pulled it out and took it to the incident. It was not needed fortunately, but what she is trying to do will save lives,” said Bill Lorah, one of Goff’s former teammates.
Brain’s Heart hosts an annual softball game to raise money for the defibrillators. Within their first year, they were able to purchase six machines, and in 2017 they were able to purchase nine.
More information about Brian’s Heart can be found here.
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