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Sixty-eight-year-old Donald McQuinn was spending his Labor Day weekend at the Grand Wailea Resort, Hotel & Spa located in beautiful Maui, Hawaii, when he suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). McQuinn, the best-selling author of two science fiction novels, was presenting at the Maui Writers Conference held at the resort. Like many victims, McQuinn did not experience any symptoms prior to his SCA.
McQuinn was participating in a good-natured game of water volleyball at the resort swimming pool when he suddenly collapsed. After nearby resort guests pulled him from the pool, it became obvious that he wasn't breathing. A person in the group began CPR immediately while others ran to call 9-1-1. Several minutes later, Officer Nelson Johnson of the Maui Police Department arrived carrying an automated external defibrillator (AED). Officer Johnson checked McQuinn for a pulse and could not find one. He quickly turned on the AED and, following the instructions of the voice and text prompts, delivered a shock by pressing the illuminated orange button. The resort's doctor arrived on the scene and informed Officer Johnson that McQuinn now had a pulse. McQuinn had been unconscious for a total of seven minutes and could have died if he had not received early defibrillation. Today, McQuinn is enjoying retirement with his wife and family in his home town of Seattle.
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