CHESTER, Va. (AP) — Brook Jones experienced two years of infertility and eventually became pregnant at 34.
As a constantly unsure person, her worries have risen “to another level” when she experienced pregnancy, childbirth and early parent-child relationships during the Covid-19 pandemic.
If you cough near Jones, it can send her to an emotional tail spin. And that was before her daughter, Reese, arrived.
“I was so obsessed with Reese that I wrote down everything she did in each second,” Jones said. And she said her husband, Rob Jones, is a capable, practical father, but “I had to control everything. I couldn’t sleep because I was watching her breath.”
Brooke, who lives in Chester, Virginia, near Richmond, began drinking more coffee to help him stay awake. She got professional help due to postpartum anxiety, but still struggled. She had several panic attacks.
On a Sunday in late November 2021, Brooke, then 35, had friends to meet Reese, but Rob and Buddy watched a football game on TV. After her friend left, Brook took Reese to his bedroom.
She later texted Rob saying he was feeling unwell. She was overheated, chest pain, shortness of breath, and a sick stomach.
When Rob went to check on her, he found her bassinet and Lease in Brook on the bathroom floor. She was so hot that she incited herself and undressed.
Rob thought she would probably come down with some bugs. He rushed his friend back to the living room. He is also called his mother, who lives across the street.
Within minutes he returned to check on Brooke. He found her face on the shower floor.
“Brooke, what are you doing there?” Rob said still on the phone.
When she didn’t reply, he rolled her. Her skin was grey and she was bubbly in her mouth. He could tell she wasn’t breathing.
“Mom, go here now!” he said. “There’s something wrong with Brooke!”
He then called 911. The dispatcher spoke to him by delivering chest compressions while his mother was caring for Lease.
Rob never performed CPR. However, the dispatcher coached him to chase the Bee Gees’ “Stayin ‘Alive” beat, and he kept going for seven minutes completely before EMTS arrived and took over.
Brooke’s heart was in a rhythm that was not responding to an automated external defibrillator or AED. Only CPR is helpful. The responder was able to finally get a light pulse.
At the hospital, doctors said Brooke had two more episodes of cardiac arrest. This is caused by a broken heart current. She was placed in a induced coma, where her body was healed from the trauma and minimized brain damage.
“I don’t know if she’s going to make it or what her brain’s ability is,” the cardiologist told Rob.
Covid-19 regulations were still in place, so only Rob was allowed in hospitals. He sat down at Brooke’s bedside and spoke to her all day. The priest came to pray for her.
Two days later, Brooke was taken out of coma. She was connected to the ventilator, so she was confused and unable to speak.
She wanted to write. With pen and paper, she writes, “Covid?” Suppose that’s why she was hospitalized.
“There’s no baby,” Rob said. “It was your heart.”
Based on more exchanges, it was clear that Brooke’s cognitive function was normal.
After running the test for several more days, doctors told Brook that the cardiac arrest was caused by sudden onset conditions, causing the coronary artery to collapse and disrupt blood flow to the heart.
They thought it was likely due to a combination of factors, including anxiety, lack of sleep, caffeine intake, low potassium levels, postnatal hormones, and use of inhalers for asthma.
Due to the heart problems she had, Brooke was not a candidate for an implantable defibrillator or ICD. She takes medication to help with blood flow normally.
Brooke calls out her hero Rob and believes he saved her life. However, he believes that a complete storm of events is needed to stop her mind, so it’s unlikely that it will happen again, but she’s not that sure.
“It makes you feel very vulnerable,” she said. “I don’t feel 100% safe.”
She struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and panic attacks. She was unable to return to work as a bank branch manager.
“I miss my career every day, but there’s also this great opportunity to stay home with Reese,” she said. “She’s a miracle, I’m a miracle.”
One of the things that helped Brooke heal emotionally was becoming an advocate for his perception of heart disease.
“I thought I needed to turn this into something meaningful,” she said. “I want my daughter to be proud of me. I want to save my life.”
As part of her advocacy work, Brooke spoke at an American Heart Association event. She promotes CPR training and supports state bills that require Virginia schools to have cardiac emergency response plans.
“I didn’t want the events in my mind to ruin my life, but to guide it and give it a new purpose,” she said. “This job will help me regain my strength.”
The story from the heart records the inspiring journeys of survivors, caregivers and advocates of heart disease and stroke.
American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is by American Heart Association, Inc. owned or held by, all rights are reserved.
