Indianapolis, Indiana — July 1, 1999
One year after surviving sudden cardiac arrest, Mac McClanahan turns gratitude into action for his community.
It had been one year since Roland “Mac” McClanahan “died” at the Fiddler’s Three Restaurant in Shelbyville. Thanks to the quick response of friends and paramedics equipped with a portable defibrillator, McClanahan was alive and well—and determined to help his community improve its ability to resuscitate victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
On July 8, 1998, McClanahan was dining out with his wife, Ruth, when he stood to greet friends and collapsed without warning. Two friends, Stan Spreckelmeyer and Sgt. John R. Wheeler, immediately recognized that he was in cardiac arrest and began CPR while restaurant staff called 911.
Paramedics Ty Barnett and Doug Lutes arrived just three minutes later and used a defibrillator to shock his heart back into a normal rhythm. McClanahan was transported to W. S. Major Hospital in Shelbyville and later transferred to St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis, where doctors implanted a defibrillator to prevent future emergencies.
Rather than viewing his survival as mere luck, McClanahan chose to give back. He began raising funds to purchase automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Department.
On Tuesday, June 29, the McClanahans returned to the Fiddler’s Three Restaurant to host a fundraising dinner. Friends and townspeople filled the room to celebrate McClanahan’s life and support his lifesaving mission.
“Cardiac arrest is not a heart attack,” McClanahan explained. “It’s much worse.” Without warning, the electrical signals that control the heart malfunction, causing it to stop beating. Because paramedics were nearby when his arrest occurred, response time was brief. In rural areas, however, the county sheriff is often first on the scene.
“For that reason, all county sheriff cars need to be equipped with AED units,” he said. “I’m trying to give something back to our community to show how grateful I am to still be alive.”
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Department was among several Indiana agencies participating in a research study on police use of AEDs conducted by the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine.
According to William Groh, M.D., the study’s principal investigator, early results showed that cardiac arrest victims treated first by police equipped with AEDs were eight times more likely to survive than those treated initially by paramedics. Police officers’ constant presence in the community often allows them to reach emergencies more quickly.
The department initially received funding from the Medtronic Foundation Heart Rescue Foundation to purchase 15 AEDs. McClanahan’s goal was to secure six additional units so that every patrol vehicle in the county could be equipped. At the time, each unit cost approximately $3,000, and McClanahan had already raised $14,000.
“It’s been very gratifying,” McClanahan said, smiling through tears as he greeted guests and accepted their donations. “I want people to know how much this means to our community and to me.”
For Mac McClanahan, survival was never the end of the story. It became a responsibility—one measured not in years gained, but in lives protected because he chose to act.