SANTAQUIN, Utah — After suffering cardiac arrest last month, a Provo Police officer is alive and well, thanks to the quick action of fellow law enforcement.
Jan. 2 was just like any other night for 37-year-old Trevor Thomas and his wife Tiffany.
"I was asleep, but he still was awake and then our youngest daughter — 4-year-old — woke up and he brought her into the room," Tiffany said.
That's when she started hearing noises coming from her husband.
"[I] new like instantly that he wasn't OK," Tiffany said. "Just tried so hard to get him to wake up and, you know, he was just staring off."
She said her husband, a 16-year veteran of the Provo Police Department, started turning blue. Tiffany ended up calling 911.
Within minutes, Santaquin Police arrived at their home.
"They ended up having to use the AED device, and what I remember is they shocked him, ended up having to shock him two times," Tiffany said.
Trevor was taken to Mountain View Hospital in Payson.
"My last memory is probably sometime that day, earlier that day, and then about a week later I remember pieces of the hospital," Trevor said.
Trevor told FOX 13 News he had no previous history of heart problems,
"They call it Idiopathic V-Fib, because they can't find a known cause," Tiffany said.
Tiffany says the survival rate for what her husband went through is 3 percent, with a 20 percent chance it could happen again.
On Tuesday night, the Thomas family attended the Santaquin City Council meeting, where they got to meet the men and women who were there during the worst moment of their lives.
"Seven years, this is my first time," said Santaquin Police Officer Cody Tipler. "That's really special, and knowing that he has an entire family, four children, that means something."
He was helping his fellow brother in blue.
"Knowing that our training and our experience can actually pull through and save a life, I believe he probably would have done the same for us as well," Tipler said.
Without a key tool, the outcome could have been much different.
"Having an AED that can deliver a shock within 4-6 minutes really makes a difference in a patient's life," said Santaquin Fire Chief Ryan Lind.
Just six weeks later, Trevor is back at work and getting back to normal.
"Thank you for being here for me, but thank you for what they do every day for everybody around here," Trevor said to his rescuers.
The Thomas family gave each of the officers a gift basket with a letter from each of their four kids.
