LEXINGTON, KY. (LEX NEWS) — In 2021, Sarah Katzenmaier collapsed during Lexington's annual Thriller Parade — and survived. Now she's turning that experience into action, helping launch an effort to map AED locations across the city.
Katzenmaier was preparing to perform in the parade when she went into sudden cardiac arrest just steps into the first dance.
"I only got about, you know, 2 or 3 steps into the first round of the dance I believe and then I dropped to the ground," Katzenmaier said.
A friend in the crowd, Charlotte Callan, stepped in and began performing CPR — and kept going for more than 10 minutes while emergency crews struggled to reach Katzenmaier through the crowd.
"Asserted herself and said that she knew what she was doing so she started doing compressions only on me and had to do them for over 10 minutes because the ambulance could not get through the horde of zombies," Katzenmaier said.
Because the parade is a zombie-themed event, I asked Katzenmaier whether anyone thought she was simply acting when she fell.
"I am shocked that somebody didn't think I was just putting on and playing and trying to be a better zombie because we do lay down in the street until Michael and Ola come out and then we rise up from the grave, but Charlotte Callan did what she needed to do in spite of my beautiful makeup," Katzenmaier said.
When EMS arrived, crews used an AED to help save her life.
Katzenmaier said she had no prior cardiac history — and that her experience is a reminder the condition can strike anyone.
"I have not had any cardiac issues me or my family it was just sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone anytime regardless of your zip code regardless of your health history," Katzenmaier said.
Nationwide, fewer than 10% of people survive a sudden cardiac arrest that occurs outside of a hospital, Katzenmaier said.
She is now helping launch "Cardiac Cats" with the Cardiac Crusade, an initiative to map AED locations across Lexington and integrate them into 9-1-1 systems — so that in an emergency, a voice assistant could direct bystanders to the nearest device.
"Somebody could have said, Hey Siri, hey Google, hey Apple, where's the nearest AED? And they could've said, Inside the Kentucky Theatre. Charlotte wouldn't have had to do that for 10 minutes because every single minute that you're not getting oxygen to your brain is a greater chance of dying," Katzenmaier said.
The AED-mapping project is set to begin next month. In the meantime, Katzenmaier is urging everyone to learn CPR.
"CPR is what saved my life. Charlotte Callan saved my life by performing CPR," Katzenmaier said.
As for this year's Thriller Parade, Katzenmaier has no plans to sit it out.
"I've done it every year and I would like to see anybody stop me," Katzenmaier said.
For more information on Cardiac Cats, click here.
Ana Medina is committed to covering stories in your community that matter to you. If you have an idea, reach out to her at ana.medina@wlex.tv
