RICHMOND, Va. β The American Heart Association raised at least $550,000 at Friday morning's Go Red For Women luncheon at the East Broad Marriott in Richmond, with more donations still coming in.
The event featured food, fundraising and powerful survivor stories, including keynote speaker Brooke Jones, who shared her harrowing experience of surviving cardiac arrest.
"It started like any other Sunday for me, but it ended up being a day that changed my life forever," Jones said.
Jones was a new mother watching football at home with her husband and friends when everything changed in seven minutes on Nov. 28, 2021.
"I like to describe that day as I was fine until I wasn't," Jones said.
She began fanning, coughing and clutching her chest before collapsing in the shower, where her husband Rob found her face down.
"I was face down in the shower and he said, 'Brooke, what are you doing? Get off the shower floor.' He knew pretty quickly that something was wrong," Jones said.
Rob immediately began chest compressions under a dispatcher's direction.
"He was a lifesaver for both of us, really. He walked me through it, kept me calm," Rob Jones said.
Brooke went into cardiac arrest three times between her initial episode and the hospital trip. She survived a sudden tightening of her heart's arteries.
"He's my hero. I owe him my entire life," Jones said.
Roughly 90% of people who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital don't survive, according to the American Heart Association. Nearly 45% of women ages 20 and older are living with some form of cardiovascular disease, and life stages such as pregnancy and menopause can increase their risk.
"Not everybody's symptoms are the same, so really hearing the survivor stories and what they went through is really motivating and uplifting and helps spread the education of what to look for when something like this is happening," said Angela Simmons, Go Red For Women chair.
Jones now dedicates her life to sharing her survival story at events like Go Red For Women, encouraging women to take their heart health into their own hands.
"You have the power to save a life. Because of hands-only CPR, my story didn't end that day," Jones said.
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