# @americanredcross on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DQKcJziAde1
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/72588281-americanredcross-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/7a65351f21.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-10-23T19:15:31.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** American Red Cross (@americanredcross) — https://gondola.cc/americanredcross

## Caption

CPR came full circle for Joe Farrell. As a retired doctor of physical therapy, he once used it to save someone’s life. Then, CPR saved his life. Now, Joe’s mission is to make sure others are ready to step up when it matters most.

Joe used CPR to help save someone in cardiac arrest on a golf course in 2007. Just one year later, the roles reversed. At a dinner party, Joe collapsed, and CPR saved his life.

"I was there for five minutes, I was told by my wife, because I passed out," Joe said. "Thank goodness I was talking to someone who knew CPR."

The person called 911 and performed chest compressions until first responders arrived. Joe went into a coma and spent nearly two weeks in the hospital.

"This is life-changing," Joe said. "One minute you're clinically dead, then you're brought back to life with CPR and defibrillation." 

After this pivotal life event, Joe knew he needed to give back. He became an advocate for CPR education and prevention and treatment of sudden cardiac arrest. Joe quickly found his people in strong community partnerships.

"We didn't know that we were suffering from pretty significant PTSD," Joe said. "I could tell my story, and it was okay to cry. I had a safe place."

Within 10 years, Joe helped put more than 100 AEDs in schools and train over 40,000 people in Hands-Only CPR and AED use. He did so alongside his wife, Edie, who is also in the medical field.

Today, Joe continues this lifesaving work as the chair of the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation's board of directors. His life goal is to raise awareness to a point where cardiac arrest becomes a household word, and more people know what to do in this kind of emergency.

We are deeply grateful to Joe for his courage, advocacy and unwavering commitment to helping others learn the skill that saved his life. 

#SCAAMonth #LearnCPR

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## Tags

scaamonth, learncpr

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