Sunday dinner in Italy means one thing—family. And for one Italian family, it nearly ended in tragedy.

Andrea Danielli and his extended family sat down for their weekly dinner on April 15, 2018, and thanks to his family and the business downstairs, he lived to see Monday.

Andrea Danielli, his wife, Chiara, and their 11-year-old son, Mattia, live in San Siro on beautiful Lake Como, Italy, only about five minutes away from Andrea’s sister, Simona, her husband, Andrea Vercesi, and their adult daughter, Silvia.

The Danielli and Vercesi families had spent a wonderful evening together, filled with stories, laughter, and a delicious meal. About 10:30 p.m., the Vercesi family decided it was time to say goodnight and return home to prepare for the new work week.

Feeling very tired, Andrea Danielli decided to go to bed as his wife finished cleaning the kitchen. He was alone in the bedroom when he noticed a tightness in his chest. He then collapsed at the foot of the bed and fell unconscious, where Chiara soon found him.

Just 30 minutes after their departure, the Vercesi family was alarmed to hear their telephone ringing. Concerned because of the late hour, Simona rushed to the phone. Her sister-in-law was on the other end, sobbing because she had found her husband lying on the floor and unresponsive.

Simona advised Chiara to call Italy's "118" emergency services number for assistance. While the Vercesi family rushed back to the Danielli home, Chiara stayed on the phone with the 118 operator, who instructed her how to do CPR to try to save her husband’s life.

Fortunately, Andrea and Silvia Vercesi are trained volunteer emergency responders. They immediately realized that their relative was in sudden cardiac arrest and began the chain of survival. In another turn of good fortune, the Danielli family lives above a pharmacy, and the physician in charge had recently installed a ZOLL^® automated external defibrillator (AED). As Andrea Vercesi took over CPR from the distraught Chiara, Silvia rushed downstairs to retrieve the AED Plus^®.

Silvia quickly applied the electrodes to her uncle’s chest. The AED analyzed his heart rhythm, confirmed he was in cardiac arrest, and applied the proper shock. After three cycles of defibrillation, Andrea Daniella’s heart restarted, just as the ambulance arrived at his home. The emergency responders stabilized Andrea and transported him to the hospital, where he spent three days in intensive care.

Despite all the people working intensely to save his life that night, Andrea Danielli has no memory of the experience. "When I woke up after three days of intensive care, I did not remember anything. I did not imagine at all what had happened to me," he says. After Chiara told him about the dramatic rescue, he says, "I realized how much the circumstances were in my favor, especially the luck of living above the Camozzi Pharmacy, where the owner, Dr. Gianluca Camozzi, had just decided to install the AED device that saved my life."

Thanks to the foresight of Dr. Camozzi and the quick thinking of his relatives, Andrea Danielli not only survived the terrifying ordeal, he made a full recovery. He has returned to his career as a plumber in nearby Switzerland. He says, “I have fully resumed my life, clearly with some more attention regarding nutrition and physical effort.” According to his medical team, he is very fortunate that he didn’t suffer any brain damage from oxygen deprivation during the cardiac arrest.

Andrea Danielli (middle) with his two rescuers, Andrea Vercesi (left) and Silvia Vercei (right).

Meanwhile, after seeing the vital role the ZOLL AED played in saving their relative’s life, Silvia, Simona, and Andrea Vercesi became certified as lay rescuers qualified to use an AED. "I believe everyone should participate in these courses, which are offered free of charge by the Italian Red Cross," says Andrea Vercesi. "I also believe that there should be more AED installations, given how important they are for saving lives." "This is undoubtedly a real example that cardiac arrest can be tackled, and just a few maneuvers with an AED will save lives," he concludes.