Kyra Smithlin can still recall the unusual flutter in her heart that she felt unexpectedly in November 2012, a sensation she had never experienced before. However, since it was just before the holidays and she had no history of heart problems, she chose to delay seeking medical attention. In mid-December of that year, Smithlin was snuggling with her then 9-year-old son Bryce on a Saturday morning when the boy observed her trembling and heard her gasping for air. “When I looked over and saw my mom gasping for air, the first thing that came to my mind was a seizure,” Bryce Smithlin said on TODAY in a segment that aired on Feb. 2. “I was terrified. It didn’t even feel like I was awake, it felt like the worst nightmare I’ve ever had.” He ran to get his dad, Tony, who found Smithlin pale and not breathing.
Kyra Smithlin was cuddling with her son Bryce, then 9, when her heart suddenly stopped beating.Courtesy Kyra SmithlinAt the time, the 48-year-old mother had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest, a life-threatening condition where the heart stops beating, causing blood flow to the brain and other vital organs to cease, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. This can happen to individuals who have not been diagnosed with heart disease, as per the American Heart Association’s warning. More than 356,000 Americans suffer from cardiac arrest each year, and 60% to 80% of them perish before reaching the hospital, notes the Centers for Disease Control. Every minute is crucial to prevent brain and organ injury. Critical role of CPRBryce dialed 911 while his father performed CPR, a crucial initial step in saving Smithlin’s life. Over a decade later, the family is sharing their experience to emphasize the importance of knowing CPR. Smithlin, a member of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women 2024 Class of Survivors, stressed that at least one member of every family should possess this skill. “I just can’t imagine my husband not having jumped in and started CPR,” she said on TODAY. “He’s told me that, ‘I can’t imagine how I would’ve felt if I would’ve just stood by and not done anything.’”
Smithlin is part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women 2024 Class of Survivors.Daniel Martinez / American Heart AssociationTony Smithlin performed CPR for about eight minutes. “Bryce was holding the phone to my head,” he recalled on TODAY. “Just little 9-year-old boy holding the phone while I was doing CPR, the operators making sure I was pacing properly.” He continued until paramedics arrived and delivered four shocks to her heart, managing to obtain a faint heartbeat before rushing her to the hospital. Smithlin appeared to be improving in the emergency room, but her condition deteriorated once more. Doctors initiated CPR and subsequently had to shock Kyra Smithlin’s heart 40 times over the next eight hours, depleting the batteries in two defibrillators to the point “where they were not going to continue anymore,” she said. As she lay in a coma on life support, her 9-year-old son remained by her side throughout the night, speaking to her, expressing his love, and imploring her to persevere. Smithlin attributes her survival to him, as he provided her with the determination to endure, even though she was unconscious. “I made it through thanks to Bryce jumping up on my bed. He was talking to me through the whole thing while I was in my coma. He said that he needed me and to ‘Fight, mom,'” she recounted. Several days later, when Smithlin regained consciousness, she indicated that she wanted to write something and scribbled “Bryce is amazing” on a notepad. “That’s when everyone was like, ‘He was talking to her the whole time, she heard him,'” she said. “So we got it framed and it’s my most favorite treasure I have.” She was discharged from the hospital almost three weeks later. ‘Emotional ride’Doctors informed Smithlin that she was likely born with non-compaction cardiomyopathy, an extremely uncommon congenital heart muscle disorder that carries a high risk of arrhythmia—an irregular heartbeat, as stated by the National Library of Medicine. She described it as “an electrical problem” with her heart. Smithlin had a defibrillator implanted in her chest to restore her heart to a normal rhythm if necessary and was prescribed medication. However, the ordeal was not yet over. Six months later, she endured another sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed at home before the defibrillator revived her heart. Since then, the device has been upgraded to one that functions as both a pacemaker and a defibrillator. “It’s such an emotional ride going through that as a family. There’s a lot of PTSD,” Smithlin said. “I would come home, and I would be trying to fall asleep at night, and they’d be staring at me, like, is she breathing?”
The family has been sharing their story to talk about the importance of knowing CPR.Courtesy Kyra SmithlinTherapy has aided in her mental recovery, and Smithlin appreciates the opportunity to create more memories with her family, including celebrating two recent weddings of her children. The family has grown closer as a result. “As terrible as it was that that happened, it has improved my life and my family’s lives,” she said. “We are way closer. We hug each other tighter. We always say, ‘I love you.’ I don’t take a day for granted.”
