Colorado middle school teacher who survived heart attack as a teen pushes for CPR training and AEDs in more public places

Weeks after Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest on the field, we're still talking about the medical response that saved his life.

And that kind of response could save any athlete - from professionals to kids.

In many cases, it means pushing for CPR and AED certification, which many, but not all gyms and public places require.

One Colorado woman had a scare similar to Hamlin's while she was young. Years later, she's dedicated her life to this cause. 

Each training course is a refresher on proper CPR techniques and AED administration.

As a middle school science teacher, Jordan Peak knows these skills could be the difference in life or death for a student.

But for this 21-year-old, it's so much deeper than that.

"CPR is really the only reason I am alive today," said Jordan Peak.

Nine years ago, Peak was your typical active middle schooler playing more than 20 hours of sports a week.

She played basketball and ran. One night, she felt tired but still went to basketball tryouts.

What happened next changed her life.

"We had just finished some sprinting," Peak recalled. "I was walking over to get water and collapsed during that walk."

She was unconscious and with no heartbeat, so a mom and coach performed CPR for nine minutes until EMTs arrived.

Doctors later put her in a medically-induced coma for five days.

"My parents thought I had just broken a bone or gotten a concussion and when they arrived on scene it was apparent that was not the case," she said.

While Peak clinically died that night, she went on to make a full recovery. It wasn't until later that she learned how lucky she really was: "The community center I was practicing in did not have an AED."

Dr. Chris Rausch is a cardiologist at Children's Hospital Colorado.

He also works with Project Adam, a national program aimed at getting more AEDs in schools.

"Our goal is that there's an AED within two minutes of any place that somebody is going to be participating in athletics," Rausch said.

He says the medical device and CPR skills are critical in the moments before EMTs arrive.

"For most people, the chance of survival beyond 5 to 10 minutes without CPR and an AED is zero," he said.

Since her incident, Peak has worked with Children's Hospital Colorado to spread that message so no student has to defy the odds like her.

"It truly is a miracle that I'm still here," Peak said.

Each year, she'll keep sharpening these skills while hoping she never has to use them.

"Part of being a good public citizen is knowing how to take care of the people around you," Peak said.