Jessica Gansmann has no memory of what happened last month when she suffered a sudden cardiac event at an Imperial gas station.
However, she does know that three people stepped in to help her before first responders arrived to rush her to the hospital.
“I don’t remember a thing about that day,” said Gansmann, 56, of Pevely. “It is amazing that these three people happened to be there, and they obviously knew what they were doing because I am here. They are my little angels for sure.”
Gansmann said she had been diagnosed with a congenital heart disease about four years ago, and doctors advised her to have a defibrillator implanted to monitor her heart and deliver an electrical shock or pacing pulse when needed.
“I am stubborn, and I was like it is not going to happen to me,” she said. “It did, though.”
Jamie Quistgaard, 57, of Arnold was one of the three people to administer CPR to Gansmann at the gas station.
He said he worked in law enforcement for about 20 years in Louisiana, including eight years at the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, where he also taught CPR.
Quistgaard said he’s glad he and two other women were at the gas station to help Gansmann and that she is recovering.
“I want her to get stronger,” he said. “Hopefully after the holidays, we can all meet up. We are all connected. I think it is cool that we were able to help her.”
Gansmann’s fiance, Tony Todd, said he is grateful people were able to step in to help his future wife.
“It is amazing,” said Todd, 58, of Pevely. “I can’t thank them enough. She is my whole life. I am very grateful for them. God love them.”
The incident
On Nov. 15, Gansmann was in the gaming room at the ZX gas station, 5209 Warren Road, off Miller Road in Imperial when her heart apparently stopped.
Quistgaard said he had stopped at the gas station and was waiting in line to purchase some items when a woman came out of the gaming room and screamed that someone was dead.
“I went back there, and I saw (Gansmann) lying on the floor,” said Quistgaard, an investigator for the St. Louis City Counselor’s Office. “I started CPR. I had the clerk call 911.”
Quistgaard said he first rubbed the woman’s sternum to check for any response.
“I didn’t know if she had ingested anything, and I wanted to see if she would respond to a sternum rub,” he said. “Most people will respond to a sternum rub. I checked for a pulse. She didn’t have one.”
Quistgaard said he then started performing CPR before another woman stepped in.
Rock Township Ambulance District got a call about the incident at 4:24 p.m. An ambulance arrived at the gas station at 4:33 p.m., Rock Township Chief Jerry Appleton said.
Appleton said Gansmann was transported to Mercy Hospital South in St. Louis County.
Todd said he found out what was happening to Gansmann when he called her cell phone and a police officer answered. He rushed to the gas station, arriving before emergency personnel.
Todd said Gansmann was in the hospital for 10 days, and she now has a defibrillator. Gansmann was home for about two days after being released from the hospital before she needed to return due to pain from the six cracked ribs. After that, she returned home on Dec. 1.
Gansmann said her ribs were broken when the three people performed CPR on her, adding that she is recovering well and had her first cardiology appointment Dec. 3.
Gansmann said while her ribs hurt, she is thankful Quistgaard and the two women performed CPR on her.
“They say if you don’t get your ribs broken, it is not being done right,” she said. “It is no fun today, but it is fine with me. They did what they needed to do to save me, and they had no reason to do it. There still are good people in this world. I am very grateful.”
Gansmann said she is getting stronger every day and is getting used to having a defibrillator. She also said she is getting plenty of support and help from her family.
“I have a big family,” she said. “They love me to pieces, and I know they are grateful for those people for saving my life.”
Appleton said Gansmann’s experience highlights why people should learn how to perform CPR. “What saves these people is getting CPR established,” he said. “Bystander CPR is hugely important, and I encourage everybody to learn it. Go get certified. It is not nearly as hard as you think.”
Connecting
Todd said he returned to the gas station a few days after the incident and asked the manager to provide contact information for the people who helped his fiancee.
Quistgaard said he called the gas station about two days after the incident to see if they knew who Gansmann was.
“They didn’t know her, but the manager told me her (fiance) was looking for the people who helped,” Quistgaard said. “(The manager) gave me his number.”
Todd invited Quistgaard to the hospital to visit Gansmann before she underwent heart surgery and had the defibrillator implanted.
“It was nice to meet her,” Quistgaard said. “She grabbed my hand and thanked me. She gave me a big, old hug.”
Todd said he also has contacted the two women who helped his fiancee, and he and Gansmann had planned to take Quistgaard and the women to dinner. However, those plans were canceled when Gansmann returned to the hospital.
Todd and Gansmann said they plan to reschedule the dinner with all three of them when Gansmann is feeling stronger.
“I want to do something for them and thank them,” Gansmann said. “I just can’t say thank you enough. I’m very grateful.”