Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(KSL News) -- Utah has received more than 600-thousand dollars in federal grant money to buy 500 defibrillators for the rural parts of the state. Over the next three years the compact machines will be given to the police officers and EMT's in small towns. They'll also be given to restaurants, airports, and shopping centers -- any place that draws a large crowd.
These life saving machines cost 14-hundred dollars, but they do save lives. One saved Jerry Johnston's life three years ago when he had a heart attack while boarding a plane in Bolivia.
Jerry Johnston, Life saved by Defibrillator: "It not only saved my life. It gave me a better life. The defibrillator didn't take me to where I was. It took me to a better place afterwards. It's kind of been a guardian angel."
Now Johnston wears a permanent defibrillator in his chest, and he still keeps in touch with the flight attendant who brought him back to life.
