Our WHY

We believe that EVERYONE should know the skill of CPR so that every household has someone with the skill and confidence to act if and when someone has a cardiac event.  We also believe that all of us should understand the proactive lifestyle and health measures we can take to protect our heart.  

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Timmy’s story: 

On July 24, 2021, Timmy woke up on Cape Cod at his family’s cottage and started a very normal day.  He went for a jog in the neighborhood and took a beautiful picture of the ocean.  He took a shower and put on his beach clothes, looking forward to a great day with friends and family.  At the time, he had just turned 43 years old.  He weighed 150 pounds.  He jogged and worked out on a consistent basis.  And he had never experienced any signs of major health issues.

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Timmy is the father of two daughters and on that day, his then 11-year-old daughter was the only one with him at the cottage as they got ready for the beach.  He started feeling pain in his stomach and chest.  He figured it was either gas, or he was experiencing appendicitis.  He told his daughter he was fine, though he was moving around the cottage, curling up in weird positions, trying to get comfortable.  He told her not to worry his wife, who was five hours away heading to a lacrosse tournament with his older daughter.  But she did not listen, instead she called her and sent her pictures of Timmy in pain.

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Timmy eventually realized he needed help and his daughter went to get our friend/neighbor to ask him to drive him to the emergency room.

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Not even a minute into the drive to the emergency room, Timmy went into full cardiac arrest.  Our friend, Angelo, pulled the car over, pulled Timmy out of the car, and performed 7 minutes of hands-only CPR. Bystanders ran to a landline (no cell service in this area) and called 911.  A nurse walking by took over for Angelo and performed another 2-3 minutes of CPR, until the EMT’s arrived.  From Falmouth Hospital, Timmy went to Cape Cod Hospital (where they put in a stent), and then via helicopter to Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.  It was quite a day.  A day that started with a jog by the ocean, ended with Timmy on a ventilator and life support.

 

But he was still alive. And he is still alive!

 

Thanks to a million miracles, but as all Timmy's doctors told him, thanks mostly to Angelo and how quickly he acted and how incredibly he performed CPR.  He flat out saved Timmy's life.  

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TimmyStrong Health Story 

TimmyStrong was formed in the wake of Timmy's unexpected, scary health event.  As word of Timmy's cardiac arrest spread to the many communities he is a part of, many wanted to know what they could do to help, but they didn't know how.  

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Nick Fournier, Timmy's lifelong friend, developed and managed a "TimmyStrong" t-shirt fundraiser to raise funds for medical and hotel bills and for many who loved Timmy to connect as a family. With the hope of selling a couple dozen t-shirts to close friends, Nick ended up selling well over 2,000 t-shirts. The funds from the t-shirts along with other donations from friends, family, and strangers resulted in over $75,000. Timmy's community is strong. And with the love from that community, Timmy got stronger.  

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Once out of the hospital, through rehab, and back to life as he knew it, it turned out only a portion of the funds raised were actually needed for the medical and lodging expenses it was originally intended. 

The excess funds were used to “give back” to the community that gave so much to Timmy.  13 AEDs were purchased for schools and the community and 16 CPR mannequins and 5 Training AEDs were purchased to provide training on a voluntary basis. 

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The demand for this life saving skill was strong! People enjoyed them. People left with the skills and confidence to save a life. And people actually reported back to say that had saved lives! 

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As a result of this demand, the response, and our passion for promoting the skill of CPR, we formed TimmyStrong Health, a non-profit whose mission is to improve the healthspan of individuals and to reduce the chances of a cardiac event occurring or ending a life.