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September 18, 2025 57 mins
In the Arena - Show 57. Brought to you by LifeVac. Hosted by Rick Fatscher. With special guests. Be sure to catch Mr. 3000, Ray Priebe, with news on the latest lives saved. The Man in the Arena airs live @ 6:30pm EST every Thursday night from Paradise Studios NY via the STRONGISLAND.COM Entertainment Network.

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
It's no joke.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
When you choke Cigad Life Back and without breath, they'll
be death Cigad Life Back and goad Life Back and
Life lie Back, Life, Life Back and.

Speaker 3 (00:22):
Hey, get Life Back and Live Welcome to in the Arena.
I'm Rick Thatcher along with Patrick O'Rourke, and you know,
each week we like to highlight a special member of
the Life Act team. We don't always talk, you know,
solely about Life Act, but tonight we certainly are because
we have Heidi Felix, vice president of sales, in the house,
in the studio, in the arena, and we're so happy

(00:44):
to have you.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
So it's nice to have a woman in the arena too.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Absolutely, you know, we play, you know, Heidi. We struggle.
Pat knows this. We struggle each week depending on if
the guest is female or not with saying because we've
changed the name of the show to in the Arena
to just make it easy for me because I'm a
simple man and.

Speaker 5 (01:01):
Weeda doesn't fit and one in the Arena Woman in
the Arena.

Speaker 3 (01:06):
We yeah, that's our code. By the way, if you
go to www. I don't even know why I have
to add that, but Life Fact dot Net and use
code M I T A. You can get twenty percent
off of a life fact to save you or protect
those you love and friends and family. And you can
also get a copy of art author's book. I'm having

(01:28):
a lot of trouble to it.

Speaker 6 (01:29):
Arthur's an author author's book.

Speaker 3 (01:32):
Sorry can't just lie with a new, all new cover
and packaging. It's fantastic to see. Sorry cants a lie
again Live fact dot Net.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
That's the old one.

Speaker 3 (01:42):
Use code M I T A.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
That's the one they give out in hotel rooms. Now
they have a new one.

Speaker 4 (01:46):
I love it. You know, it's funny. Every time I
see a flat squirrel, I always think of Arthur. There's
a picture.

Speaker 3 (01:52):
I was going to ask you later, but I'll jump
to this question now. Of the chapters of the book
and you you were there while he was writing it,
I'm sure, and had many conversations with the author, Arthur
the author, what chapter, if any, stands out to you
war means the most. Do you align with.

Speaker 6 (02:13):
Well, I would say the Survivor chapter and like he
went through. I mean, that's a big reason why Arthur
and I have a connection. When I met him, you know,
you always think he's got to have a story, right,
There's got to be a story behind this man. And
I learned his story and I remember thinking to myself,
you survived something that was so horrific. And you know,

(02:35):
I know one of my friends who I actually was
a girl Scout leader with her husband, was supposed to
be in that car with him, and he al motis
he actually wasn't. Yeah, well, so, I mean all tells
that story. He's like, I had to work, you know,
and sometimes we have to work. And Margaret's like, I'm
so grateful that he wasn't there, and there was I

(02:57):
mean I knew them for twenty years before I actually
that Arthur.

Speaker 3 (03:01):
And you know, you know, we'll get to when you
met Arthur and connected and you have that bond and
you were were talking earlier about that survivor mindset. Yeah,
what do you want to tackle first? Yeah, let's talk
about how you about you know what? Yeah, and before

(03:21):
and before you do that, I wanted to just something
popped in my head because Pat talk about missing something.
Were you supposed to sleep over the Dafeo's house?

Speaker 1 (03:32):
No, that's no, Yes, he but he actually was on
my Mustang.

Speaker 5 (03:38):
Football team, right, and he he was hurt at that
point because he broke his leg and he's in a wheelchair.
But no, I remember the coaches coming to practice. It
happened in the fall, right, and the coaches came to
practice and they were all crying, like why are the
coaches crying? And they told us, you know, when your
teenaates got killed. So but then after that, when we
were all in high school, we used to drop guys
off and they'd sneak in the basement and sleep in

(03:58):
the basement, like Dave Deli.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
I shouldn't say that on the air, but.

Speaker 3 (04:01):
Yeah, Stature sleeping at the Amityville horror House is wich.
We're talking, Dave wouldn't be upset. Dave Delia classic.

Speaker 6 (04:11):
Every time I say I live in Amoneyville, not people
are like, have you seen the Horrorouse?

Speaker 4 (04:14):
I'm like, I lived two blocks away.

Speaker 6 (04:16):
Wow. And the crazy thing is on Halloween. It is
insane how many people are on Ocean Avenue. So I
actually walked it with my daughter and our little puppy,
my grandpuppy, and they actually play it up a little bit.
They had a little girl up in the upstairs, little
red eyes, and I was a little freaked out because
I read the book, and.

Speaker 3 (04:36):
They're embracing they're embracing the history. There's been occupants of
that house on Ocean Avenue and Abneyville that have not
been too happy with passers by, especially on Halloween or
any other times. I remember getting kicked out of there
with when the kids were small driving past.

Speaker 6 (04:51):
Well, there is the valance there, but apparently the woman
who lives there. And this is I found this out
from one of my girlfriends, who actually works at What
a Girl Wants, and she said, you know, my my
daughter got invited to do to babysit these kids, and
she was like, Oh, you can't make me go there, mommy,
I'm not going to go with. But the woman who
actually owns the house now is a holistic killer. She
actually has a place right in Amityville on Broadway, and

(05:14):
she has healed this house.

Speaker 3 (05:16):
This is what I told you burn those incense right
this sage age.

Speaker 6 (05:21):
I mean, I have a creepy basement, so I don't
even like to go on my basement. I can't even
imagine what it'd be like to go on that one.

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Any history in your house in South Ammyville.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
Not yet. I'm trying to.

Speaker 3 (05:29):
Make some history.

Speaker 4 (05:31):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yeah, so let's back up. I'm going to hold my house, Pat.
I know you don't know this the story of how
Heidi came in contact with Arthur Lee CEO and Venor
Life Back, who couldn't be with us tonight because he's
out in the arena in another arena, doing great things
and changing the world.

Speaker 6 (05:50):
So I worked for a little bank called NEPHW which
is now Djovia, and we used to be a lot
of people were didn't really understand what NEPQ stood for.
So they rebranded in their Jovia and I love them,
it's a great big I did business development for them.
So I had a friend of mine that I worked
with at Xerox that had invented a game called I

(06:11):
Can Save, and we decided to co brand it with NEPQ,
and we did financial literacy programs. And so my friend
Joan Paccino, we had.

Speaker 3 (06:21):
This you are the queen, but you are the queen
by the way of name recall.

Speaker 6 (06:26):
And for years we had our babies together, so we
you know, we were friends for probably twenty years. So
we had run into each other and she was telling
me about what she was doing, and I said, oh,
let's co brand a. You know, I can Save, right,
it's a fun game for kids to learn how to save.
And I wanted to do financial literacy, so we had
co branded it. Of course, I pitched it to my
corporate and they were like, this is a great idea.

(06:48):
And I was going to unerprivileged communities and teaching people
how to manage their money.

Speaker 7 (06:51):
Right.

Speaker 6 (06:51):
So sure enough, we go to this Shark Tank competition, right,
so it's Angel Investors, like, it's actually at the launch pad. Right.
So we're at Minneola and Joan and I are already
we're going to go in there. We're going to pitch
our financial literacy program, right. And I sit down next
to Arthurly and Game Changer, right, So I'm like, what

(07:12):
are you pitch in And he's like telling me a story,
and all of a sudden, I'm flashing back to an
incident that had happened with me and it was just
like it was surreal because I said, if that's why
you existed, oh my god, it would have been so
much easier.

Speaker 4 (07:24):
And saving somebody's life, My god, have you saved anybody?
He's like not.

Speaker 6 (07:28):
Yet, right, So at that point I think it works.

Speaker 4 (07:33):
That's exactly what you said.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Right.

Speaker 6 (07:34):
So he gets up there and he does his demonstration,
and Arthur is just the king of demonstrations, and he's
so confident that he's going to save lives right.

Speaker 7 (07:44):
Right.

Speaker 6 (07:45):
I mean we're like, how do you follow that guy?
He's going to save lives?

Speaker 7 (07:49):
Right.

Speaker 6 (07:49):
So, you know, we get up there, we do our thing,
and you know, of course everyone does their pitch and
in the end of it all, I go up to
him and I go, oh my god, I just want
to get your card. I want to get to know you.
You know, it's amazing what you're doing. And I had
said to the Angel investors like, oh, if if I
were you, I'd give him.

Speaker 4 (08:05):
All the money. Yeah, And my friend Jones like, what
is wrong with you?

Speaker 6 (08:09):
Oh my god, like you're giving it all the way
and and well, neither one of us got the money,
which was fine. I'm Joan is doing very well with
this game, which is Grace play now, and she did
get some investors, and you know, she's doing a remarkable job.

Speaker 3 (08:22):
The game became a game.

Speaker 6 (08:24):
It is a real game and different it is it's
I can save and so and ironically, Jovia has a
financial literacy program.

Speaker 4 (08:30):
That is not this one, but it is a good one.

Speaker 6 (08:34):
But I truly believe, like in in the whole foundation
of what we were trying to accomplish.

Speaker 4 (08:39):
But as well, following Arthur, right, I'm like, how do.

Speaker 3 (08:42):
You follow did you get to see?

Speaker 7 (08:44):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (08:44):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (08:44):
I literally had to follow him.

Speaker 1 (08:47):
Life act should be I can save. You should just
stole that I can save. Yeah, I can say I
can say I'm saving.

Speaker 6 (08:53):
Well that was what was what we're joking about it
because I'm like, this whole program that we're doing is
I can save. He's like, and he goes and I'm
going to save live And I'm like, and you will.
So I literally started following Arthur. We became really good friends.
I started telling everybody that I knew. They're like, do
you work for this guy? I go, no, I don't,
you know. But everyone that I knew when.

Speaker 3 (09:13):
You believe in something so strongly, and you've been in
sales before, but when sales becomes something that you're so
passionate and you're a product of the product and you
believe in the product, it just becomes second nature. There
are no skills, you know, there are no sales skills
to really uh, it's.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
A passion right, the passion of purpose.

Speaker 6 (09:32):
And I can see it in his eyes because when
he told me the story you know about I want
to it was like nothing. It happened to my Jackie
and my friend Steve watched this incident.

Speaker 8 (09:41):
You know.

Speaker 6 (09:41):
Now, I tell the story right when I go into
I was just at the Levaton Property Owners Association meeting,
and I get up there and I tell Arthur's story.
I tell the story about how I met Arthur, and
then I tell this story about Arthur, you know, and
and Stephen witnessing this choking incident, and like he's my
VP of operations, all Steven right, and so all these
people that I've really believed in Arthur from day one.

Speaker 4 (10:03):
You know some in the audience too as well.

Speaker 6 (10:05):
That really, when you know somebody who has such a
purpose driven life, that's exactly the best thing I can
say about Mike.

Speaker 3 (10:15):
Rowe, by the way, you know, saw met Arthur and
was so moved by you know, there should be more
people like Arthur Lee too, And well Mike Rowe says
that that says something well, and it.

Speaker 6 (10:26):
Was funny because you know, we just kept in touch,
and I would tell everybody that I knew and I'm like,
I have thousands of people that I know. I hate
to say it, like I really do. I have a
lot of people that I know. Let me post your stuff.
And so I started doing that and people started coming
into life back and he's like, you got to get
a code, we got to get you going. And so
what was so crazy? I did that for five years, right,
and I'm in the middle of the pandemic. And at

(10:48):
this point, I'm working in Manhattan. I worked down my
Wall Street and I used to sell facility services.

Speaker 7 (10:53):
Right.

Speaker 6 (10:53):
So my company, the Millennium Group, actually managed Madison Square Garden,
Yankee Stadium.

Speaker 3 (10:58):
Not small pounds, right, But.

Speaker 4 (11:02):
You know, Arthur kept saying to me, like, when day
you're gonna come work for me.

Speaker 6 (11:05):
I'm like, I don't know if you could afford me,
because you know, I got two kids in college and whatever.

Speaker 4 (11:09):
So here we're in the middle of.

Speaker 6 (11:10):
A pandemic and I'm trying to sell facility services. Can
sell facility services because nobody's in their facilities, right.

Speaker 3 (11:17):
They're all shutdown. They're not essential, by the way.

Speaker 4 (11:20):
Yeah, exactly.

Speaker 6 (11:21):
So I said a prayer and I said, God, I
can't do this anymore.

Speaker 4 (11:25):
I need something that I believe in and.

Speaker 6 (11:27):
My phone ranks now I know Lisa and Nunny godwink
is what we call this?

Speaker 3 (11:34):
Right?

Speaker 6 (11:35):
I literally still get chilled today. And it's Arthur on
the phone and he goes, are you.

Speaker 4 (11:40):
Ready to work for me? Full time?

Speaker 3 (11:41):
Wow?

Speaker 4 (11:42):
I said, You're never going to believe this, Arthur. I
literally just said a prayer.

Speaker 6 (11:46):
He goes, well, you're a woman of faith, and he goes,
and it's time that you come and work for life back.

Speaker 4 (11:52):
And that was five years ago, five years ago, five
years ago, And.

Speaker 6 (11:55):
I remember him inviting me out to the facility because
at one point they didn't even have a facility, right,
the everybody's kind of well.

Speaker 3 (12:01):
It was the garage or a portion of the Warner's
house in massive people right yeah, yeah.

Speaker 6 (12:06):
No like And it was funny because Mike Singer had
it in his basement. They're building things, and so he's like,
how do you We got to save vibes, We've got
to save vibes. And so sure enough he brings me
out to the facility in this concept which was very tiny.

Speaker 3 (12:20):
So is this prior to twenty sixteen? Were you there
for the first or this is after the first?

Speaker 4 (12:25):
I knew him. Yeah, I knew him at the first
So my.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
Math skills are in the toilet r.

Speaker 6 (12:29):
No, you called to tell me about this, but you
know so I followed him for all those years, right,
and then sure enough he brings.

Speaker 4 (12:38):
Mad to the facility and there's sixty two.

Speaker 6 (12:41):
Pictures on the wall, sixty two and all the stories memorized,
calling people, calling people, they're hanging up with life, back
with life, life. And it got to the point where
I was like, Arthur, this is really hard, right, this
is like I didn't really expect it to be this hard, right,
And he's like, this is what I've been doing with
He's like, I told you, you know so sure enough,

(13:03):
you know here we are, like look behind us, right, yeah.

Speaker 3 (13:07):
Those listening, For those listening in San Diego, La, Houston, Orlando, Dallas,
New York City, certainly in Allentown, you hear the voice,
You hear the passion of Heidi Felix, and you hear
the passion behind the mission that is Life Act. But
we are literally sitting in a virtual hall of Saves,
surrounded by I think there are three thousand lives represented,

(13:29):
and we're now approaching because they are the engineers are
working on ways to display the extra two thousand lives
within the Hall of sALS. Veryal yeah, very inspirational place.

Speaker 6 (13:42):
I start my day in there and I walk through
there and it's like I've held eighties, I've met these people, right,
and it just and now I have like this has
been the most incredible week. And so that's why I said,
let's start with happy, right. I get a phone call
from that. I sat on a board called the Quantas
Pediatric Trauma Center Foundation on a second again, Kawana's Pediatric

(14:06):
Traumas at our foundation. It's actually a foundation where we
raise money for the trauma centers. KAPTC is cut and
it's one of my volunteer jobs. And Arthur's always like
stop volunteering, but he likes it. Actually, I think he
enjoys it.

Speaker 3 (14:20):
Oh he knows there's all stop.

Speaker 4 (14:22):
It's part of you and it's just who you are.

Speaker 6 (14:25):
But sure enough I get a phone call from my
president of the foundation telling me that we've saved a
life at the Wonder Wheel in Coney Island and we've
donated this pediatric Trauma Center kit to the owner of
the Wonder Wheel and his son is the one who
used it to save a life who I really wanted
to get on, but he's out of the country at
the moment.

Speaker 2 (14:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (14:44):
Yeah. By the way, when we were discussing you coming on,
he had about, you know, a half a dozen at
least people potential, but they're all in their arenas going
out there, some of them out of the country, but
all wanted to be.

Speaker 4 (14:55):
Here, all wanted to be exactly.

Speaker 6 (14:57):
So it was really cool because I really wanted to
a craze to come on because what we do is
we we have trauma centers in Stonybrook as well as
the Cohen's Medical Center, and we're trying to keep.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
Kids and you know what, you're listening to the Heidi
Felix and we're going to be back with more of
her story and the Life Fact story and Pat's story.
God willing after this break, protect.

Speaker 9 (15:33):
Your family by Life Fact. Now that was us over
ten years ago.

Speaker 6 (15:39):
Now Life Fact is responsible for saving over four thousand
lives from choking and the.

Speaker 9 (15:43):
Time it takes you to pick up the phone and
call another life could be saved.

Speaker 1 (15:46):
The Life Facts saved my life in two seconds.

Speaker 9 (15:50):
Protecting families has always been our mission. I'm sure you
love your family like I love my daughter, do a
soul of favor and get your own life back now.

Speaker 5 (15:58):
Go to Lifefact dot now or call eight seven seven
Life Back Order Now.

Speaker 3 (16:04):
Hey, welcome back to the arena. In the arena. Welcome
back in the arena. I'm Rick Thatcher along with Paddle
Rourke and tonight we're talking to Heidi Felix, vice president
of sales and before you were just about to share
a yetignant moment.

Speaker 6 (16:21):
Yeah, so it was pretty incredible to hear this story
about this life that was saved at the place that
you know, how many people who hasn't seen or been
on the Wonder Wheel in their lifetime.

Speaker 8 (16:32):
Right.

Speaker 6 (16:33):
But what was so incredible is we actually have an
upcoming fundraiser and so it's kind of a cool story
to share because we're doing a gala and everything that
we raise that our gala goes directly to support the
trauma centers. So pretty exciting. So it's like my collision
of my volunteer life.

Speaker 4 (16:48):
In my work life. I mean, the fruition it does come.
It comes to personal quite a bit.

Speaker 6 (16:54):
Then we had another life that was saved in Trumbull, Connecticut,
and I had worked with the police officer Samantha Fortunado,
who is literally on Channel eight right now up in Connecticut,
would have been here.

Speaker 3 (17:05):
She was doing a show and we don't we don't
mind that. Yeah, she's she'll share this story.

Speaker 4 (17:11):
So how how did that happen?

Speaker 6 (17:13):
So that was there was a tragedy, unfortunately in a
restaurant where a man our age unfortunately choked to death.
And it was it was yeah, exactly like I feel
like twenty nine again and unfortunately this gentleman had passed
away and it was a choking incident. Unfortunately, this man
never made it out of the er. And it's a

(17:34):
hard decision as anybody right to what do we do?

Speaker 4 (17:37):
And so this police officer really wanted to make.

Speaker 6 (17:41):
Sure that she was equipped and she made sure her
police department was so Life Act.

Speaker 3 (17:46):
So like Arthur Lee, she either was there when it
happened or heard about that when it happened and was inspired. Hey,
you know, if Life Act had been there, this may
have been avoided. And I'm going to do my best
to make sure it doesn't happen to somebody else.

Speaker 6 (17:59):
Well, that's what so amazing is that that restaurant is
now equipped with Life Back and the family of the
gentlemen who passed is no, actually it's not. Yeah, so
actually Grill, well yeah, so you know, Sam and I
presented to the Chambers of Commerce and got them involved,
and they went around and literally the family of the

(18:19):
man who passed and all the people in the chamber
all kind of banded together or just let everybody know
that life back is something that's a viable option and
that they would not have to worry about those kind
of situations again if they were equipped with a life back.
So the good news is we have a ten month
old that was saved up there in Tumble, Connecticut.

Speaker 4 (18:36):
So that was such a cool story.

Speaker 6 (18:39):
And you know, I mean, there's just so many of them,
that's what's so crazy. So last sight I was telling you,
I was actually at the Nasa County Police Academy.

Speaker 4 (18:48):
We are blessed that we have life.

Speaker 6 (18:50):
Back at all the patrol cars in Nasa County, which
is amazing, and we have at least six that I
know of that have been reported to us of lives
saved exactly from police officers that I know.

Speaker 3 (19:02):
Right, It's a fascinating, it's a fascinating situation where every
patrol car in our if for those folks listening nationally,
Long Island is divided into two counties, I think the
more populated and the more dense and the more probably
problematic area in Nassau County close to Queens Brooklyn, Queens

(19:22):
has it in every life act, is in every patrol car.
But we don't really hear much about it or are
able to talk too much about it. Is that just politics?

Speaker 6 (19:30):
Well, I know, I will tell you, Commissioner Writer is
a really amazing man, and he is you know, he's
a cops copy you know, want Stone equipiz guys with
everything that they need in order to be responding to
whatever incident there is.

Speaker 4 (19:43):
And I have to tell you we have so many
supporters in that organization.

Speaker 6 (19:47):
What was really interesting is that also here in the
town of Oyster Bay, Commissioner McCaffrey put it in all
of the public safety vehicles. So I get invited to
this event which is with all Long Island first responders,
all from we're talking FDN, Y, NYPD, Suffolk Sheriff, you know,
state troopers.

Speaker 4 (20:05):
We have probably four hundred people in the room. I'm
at the Police.

Speaker 6 (20:07):
Academy in the auditorium and we all have to stand
up and we get fifteen seconds.

Speaker 4 (20:11):
Now that's hard for fifteen nights. I mean I like
to talk.

Speaker 6 (20:15):
So I get up there and I you know, I
think exactly, Thank you, Commissioner Writer for putting life back
in all your patrol cars. Thank you, Commissioner McCaffrey for
putting in all the public safety vehicles.

Speaker 4 (20:26):
We are so grateful.

Speaker 6 (20:27):
And I know I'm just saying thank you on behalf
of me and Arthur Lee, who couldn't be here today.
So everyone's going around the room and upstands this young
man in the middle of the room. It says to me,
I just want to say thank you Heidi and life fact.
You saved my son's life.

Speaker 4 (20:43):
Oh my god. I mean my reaction was like, oh
my god.

Speaker 6 (20:47):
And I invited him to be here this evening and
he couldn't him and but him and his wife, you know,
they're so sweet.

Speaker 4 (20:53):
They sent me a picture of this.

Speaker 6 (20:56):
My god.

Speaker 4 (20:56):
He was a year old.

Speaker 6 (20:57):
And you know, who is it ever had a situation
where you're like, what do I do?

Speaker 4 (21:02):
What do I do right? And Amy he goes, I'm
a police officer.

Speaker 6 (21:06):
I know exactly what to do right, And he's like,
I'm hitting this kid on the back and it wasn't working.
And he's like, you know, my wife grabbed the life
back and surn off our boys alive. And you know
he's this big, burly guy, you know, and I see
tears in his eyes. I'm like, can I give you
a I'm like that was the most like just hearing
your story and you know, it's just so remarkable, is
that here I am in a room of first responders, right,

(21:29):
and this guy stands.

Speaker 4 (21:31):
Up and the whole room erupts in a plot. So
they're like, oh my god, it wasn't stage right.

Speaker 3 (21:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 6 (21:37):
So now I'm walking around the police academy and there's
a village, right. This is how they train all the
police officers.

Speaker 3 (21:42):
They have the train say, they have a.

Speaker 6 (21:44):
Train station, they have a bank, they have a place
of worship, they have homes. I mean, it's just incredible.
And they have a bar restaurant and guess what they
have in the bar restaurant.

Speaker 3 (21:53):
I'm guessing a life back.

Speaker 6 (21:55):
So I had sent a picture just I said to
a reckon, I'm like, yeah, this is hysterical. Like I'm
sitting here in the police academy, you know, training center,
and there's my life back right.

Speaker 3 (22:04):
There, and that's the way restaurants should be.

Speaker 4 (22:06):
All of them should have it, you know.

Speaker 6 (22:07):
So what's great is that we're starting to see the
tides turn where it's now people are really recognizing the
need for having this and wherever food is being served.

Speaker 3 (22:18):
Yeah, talk about the great work that's being done in Houston.

Speaker 4 (22:21):
Oh my gosh, Yeah, incredible. Yep, I love Tony.

Speaker 6 (22:25):
We've been super busy with a bill that was passed
obviously in Texas, and we've had thousands of school districts
that are now equipped with life bag for that very reason.

Speaker 3 (22:34):
So we're really coo. Yeah, So those of you listening
in Houston and Dallas, the school coming the new year
in twenty twenty six or is it right now in
the fall.

Speaker 6 (22:43):
No, it's actually was passed in June and they have
to be equipped by the end of September.

Speaker 4 (22:49):
Yeah, we've been super busy.

Speaker 3 (22:51):
A good thing.

Speaker 4 (22:52):
Yeah, it's a good thing.

Speaker 1 (22:54):
June twenty second, if you remember correctly, that's what was telling.

Speaker 3 (22:57):
That's when it passed.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
Yeah, that day was.

Speaker 5 (22:58):
Easing to be taking a put it through or not,
and they actually passed it. She thought they weren't good,
but they did.

Speaker 6 (23:03):
So Tony and I went to the New York City
Council and testified in front of the Education Committee, and
we sat there for close to twelve hours that day,
just to make sure we had our boys heard. And
Tony is a passionate woman who is got a purpose
and we I'm a bill introduced in New York City and.

Speaker 3 (23:22):
There's eleven other I believe eleven other states that has legislation.

Speaker 4 (23:26):
Yeah, we actually that with a guy from Maryland, wonderful guy.
I'm at scar.

Speaker 6 (23:30):
So you know, there's so many people that are if
you've ever had a choking incident or give our witnessed
one or lost somebody to choking, then you know those
are the people that have that purpose in that passion.

Speaker 3 (23:40):
Yeah. But when Houston goes, who do you think or
who does Tony think would be next to fall? Because
I heard something just you know, sickening really that a
blue state, Oh no, I'm sorry, I read Florida would
not follow. They would not be the one to follow.
We're not to be the one to follow Texas.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
Interesting.

Speaker 6 (24:02):
Crazy, Well, I will tell you that we've had it
taken twice. It went through the Assembly and got roadblocked afterward,
in the Senate, and then we had to introduce in
the Senate and then you know, sometimes these things just
don't move.

Speaker 4 (24:14):
It's really frustrating.

Speaker 3 (24:16):
And that's the wheels when we talk about the Great
Red Cross Guideline update and you you hear the previous
update was about forty years.

Speaker 4 (24:23):
Ago, forty seven exactly seven.

Speaker 3 (24:25):
So sometimes the wheels of change just to grind very
slowly and it takes longer. And I just think that
with equal first age and with other advocates out there,
and we've got a host of advocates in different states,
and this thing will get done because people, when they
become aware of life act I see it time and

(24:46):
time again. You guys should be everywhere. You know you
should be.

Speaker 4 (24:49):
I get that all the time. Like, oh, I didn't
really think about that. You know, somebody will go, you know,
what should be in every school we're trying.

Speaker 6 (24:57):
What we're really passionate about now in we're focusing on
is a lot of the developmental disability communities who are
ten times more likely to have choking incidents, and you know,
the mortality rate is really high in that population. And
so I've been working with hundreds of these organizations and
this week, I was supposed to be at the New
York State It's called the IDD Conference, so all people

(25:17):
that are directors of nursing for people with intellectual and
developmental disabilities. And last year I went to the conference
and one of the agencies deployed it and we have
two lives saved in People, Inc. Which is incredible. Same
in DDI, which is Developmental Disabilities Institute, which.

Speaker 3 (25:33):
Was a big.

Speaker 4 (25:36):
Well. I mean, when you.

Speaker 6 (25:36):
Deal with these people, they are amazing. But like Ishila Thurman,
I mean, she's such a huge advocate. Even though I'm
not physically there, She's called me. She's like Angel from
so and so she's got holding you. You know, she
has to deploy it. And so it's what's so wonderful
is that we have also developed people with purpose driven
passion right to advocate for us, which is a beautiful thing.

(25:57):
And you know, people are like I wish I could
bottle your energy and I go meet too on those
days that I don't have it.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
You know, I haven't seen many of those days.

Speaker 4 (26:06):
And I know you've been dealing with trying to stay under.

Speaker 3 (26:10):
In and outside in and outside of the life arena.

Speaker 1 (26:14):
This is her tired deal where she worked.

Speaker 3 (26:16):
Yeah, this is why so down today.

Speaker 4 (26:19):
Yes, it's all good.

Speaker 3 (26:21):
How about the efforts and one of my areas of
focus this besides the great in the Arena show which.

Speaker 1 (26:27):
In the twenty sixteen COVID.

Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yes, the I was thinking of the life save but
now I forgot my question. It's okay, talk about the
efforts with the VA.

Speaker 6 (26:39):
Okay, So we've been working with a VA. There was
a very passionate woman down in Orlando who was able
to implement a ball.

Speaker 4 (26:45):
I love my Annie.

Speaker 6 (26:46):
Annie Ball actually got it implemented in the Orlando VA
and we have three lives saved, all disabled veterans in wheelchairs,
which is really remarkable. But what I love about Annie
is she's become one of our purpose driven, passionate people
who actually is letting everybody know about it. So I
actually have been working on VA Boston as well as

(27:07):
VA Palo alto pretty remarkable people that are really looking
to make a change, to give them another option in
cases specifically when people are in wheelchairs right in the
community living centers. Many of these veterans unfortunately are immobile.
You know, they're either are not.

Speaker 1 (27:24):
It's hard to do the other procedures.

Speaker 6 (27:26):
Yes, it's almost impossible, I mean, and protocol is remove
them from the wheelchair, which is exactly what Annie can
attest to. She lost one of her beloved veterans because
he was a big guy. It took two of them
to get him out of the wheelchair and he had
a cardiac arrest, which is what most people don't recover from.
It's not so much the airway obstruction, it's the cardiac arrest.
If there's a full airway obstruction, you have no oxygen
to the brain. Unfortunately, you'll go unconscious and then it's

(27:49):
really hard to move them.

Speaker 4 (27:50):
Right.

Speaker 6 (27:51):
So this is what I love about these organizations that
I work with. My father is a veteran, my brother
is a veteran. To me, we have to protect our veterans, tech,
the most vulnerable populations, the littles, right, all these little children.
If one child dies every five days, where are they
spending their days? A's in school, right, and whether it
be a preschool or nursery school. And it just makes

(28:12):
me think of you know, my own children, right, And
just last week it was it was an emotional week
for me. My daughter's first day of preschool was nine
to eleven and I worked a block from the trade
center and I wasn't there. So we always say there's
a reason why God saves us, right, And I always
say that to Arthur, like when you've been through tragedies,
when you've experienced these things. I have so many friends

(28:34):
who made it out, and I have friends who did
it unfortunately, and I have friends who are still dying
from the cancer. So you know, I always look at
God puts us where we need to be, right, And
that day that I got Arthur Lee, that was where
I needed to be. And I didn't know at the
time that this is where I would wind up right.
So a lot of difficult circumstances led me on this path.

(28:54):
You know, a horrific divorce that did not end well.
And you know, I had a friend, but there are.

Speaker 3 (29:02):
Very few that did do end well. But I understand
from knowing some of the details, wasn't it wasn't.

Speaker 4 (29:08):
It wasn't a positive experience. However, my children.

Speaker 6 (29:11):
Are great, awesome, right, and and that's how you had
to look at life and we're all good, right. I mean,
I am here because of all these terrible things that
kind of led up the path to fight back.

Speaker 4 (29:23):
Right and meeting.

Speaker 6 (29:24):
Arthur and all these wonderful things that have happened since.
And you know, I said this, you know, to my
ex husband. We're at a wedding and I said, I
just want to thank you, and he's like, what, I'm like,
thank you? I said, because literally my.

Speaker 4 (29:36):
Life is so much better.

Speaker 6 (29:38):
And not that I'm not trying to be condescending or
passive aggressive it anyway. I truly love what I do.
I truly love working for Life Back. And you know,
to me, I wouldn't be here right. I'd probably still
be running his company or reading something right. And so,
you know, sometimes when you when you're you're pushed to

(29:59):
the limit and feel like I mean, I feel like
the phoenix that rose from the ashes.

Speaker 4 (30:03):
Literally, I mean.

Speaker 6 (30:04):
Some days there was there were some days that were
hard to get out of bad, but I had two
kids that I had no choice I have.

Speaker 3 (30:09):
Sometimes you're rising again from the ashes, I am. Yeah,
you're listening to Heidi Felix of vice president of sales
of Life Back, and you're listening to in the arena,
I'm Rick Thatcher along with Powder Ork and we've been
talking about you know, Heidi's and it's vast the impact
that you've had on the company in the short five years,

(30:29):
and four or five previous to that, as an advocate,
we were talking about the VA and what I was
struck with is that the amount of work and effort
you put in and all you accomplished in these different areas.
We were trying to this year try to connect the
very top of the VA with all of these like

(30:52):
Annie and in Orlandians with the JAH in California. And
I think I still think it can happen where we
kind of connect these two and then make it a
little bit easier for the rest of the country to
fall in line and say, hey, this is a simple
this is a simple facts. Let's get them in the
housing facilities. Let's get him at home with the veterans

(31:12):
that are more prone to a choking emergency that they're
doing most of their eating, not in the centers or
if they're in the living facilities, great have them there too.
But I think that that is a noble mission, and
that's why we have such a great connection with other
veterans organizations. We had Warrior Ranshawn, We talked to Tunnel
for Towers, all of those folks that look out for

(31:34):
our veterans, have a kinship and have a synergy with life.

Speaker 4 (31:39):
Act certainly yeah, and it was really neat.

Speaker 6 (31:41):
I talked to this one woman up in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Her name is Patricia, and she was just so funny.
She goes, it took me like fourteen months.

Speaker 3 (31:48):
She was.

Speaker 4 (31:48):
I kept saying, what do you guys? Idiots?

Speaker 6 (31:49):
Don't you realize we need another option? And she's so
real she goes, she actually has she's very interesting out
the f bombs and I'm cracking up as I'm to
talk into her. She was, I'm so sorry. I'm a sailor,
so I have a sailor mouth. And she goes, I
hope I'm not offending you. I'm like, no, I'm really
being entertained by this conversation right now because she told
me all of the challenges that she had, and I go,

(32:10):
you have no idea. I've been working on the vas
for years and I get it. I understand, And I said,
and what happens is there's a choking incident that doesn't
end well, and then all of a sudden they're all scrambling.
So this is why we need to be proactive. We
need to prevent those choking tragedies because our veterans deserve
to have equal opportunities to be resuscitated in a choking emergency,

(32:34):
whether they're immobile or not. And you know, so it's
been you know, it's been an interesting ride. I'm not
going to lie, but I'm not giving up.

Speaker 3 (32:42):
Yeah, I wouldn't trade it. You wouldn't trade it for anything,
and we wouldn't trade you. If there was an open
market or free market for sales representative sales executives, Life
Fact would retain and swing you to a long term contract.
Confident of that.

Speaker 6 (32:56):
I love that. Yeah, I mean to me. I you
know I said to Arthur when he hired me. I
was like, you know, I will do whatever I can.
And you know He's like, I know you will. That's
why I need to heir right. I need to have
someone I can trust and respect. And I said, likewise,
you know, it's nice to have somebody that you can
work for that actually you respected admire.

Speaker 3 (33:15):
Yeah, it's fantastic. You know what, We're gonna take a
quick break. We're going to be back with more in
the arena. We're talking to Heidi Felix. We're joined as
always by paddle work, and we're going to hear more
about Pat's uh that's happenings, but no, we're going to
get an update down on yours. And we also have
Ray Preeby mister three thousand checking in remotely from his

(33:38):
son's high school football game. So that's that'll be exciting.
We'll see how that works f Thursday night Lights. But
again we'll be back with more in the arena.

Speaker 7 (33:47):
After this, she started to choke on a piece of candy.
She wasn't breathing. Then Ray reached for the life back
in it saved her. She could have easily died that day.

(34:10):
A life back saved her life.

Speaker 3 (34:11):
What I would say is, don't need a life back.

Speaker 7 (34:15):
And not have it. Have a life back and hopefully
never need it.

Speaker 9 (34:19):
Recently, the American Red Cross has added anti joking devices
as an option when standard protocol fails is not feasible, go.

Speaker 5 (34:27):
To lifefac dot net or called eight seven seven five
four three three eight two to two.

Speaker 3 (34:33):
Everyone, We're back in the arena with Heidi Felix, vice
president of sales of Life Fact. We have a coffin
going on.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
It's okay, live audience, Live audience, roach O Ryans and
the crowd.

Speaker 4 (34:45):
Do we have to jump in we have the life
back here. I literally almost choked on water this morning.

Speaker 6 (34:48):
I'm not gonna lie. I was in the shower. I
was like, oh my god, I'm gonna die in the shower.

Speaker 3 (34:52):
You know, over three ironic different obstructions have been I
hadn't heard water, but I have heard ice cubes being
removed with life acts. So I mean, as Donnie Eisley
keeps track of all of this great information, all of
the save life reports, we don't get them all right,
there are unreported saves and Brian Warner can attest to
that roadshow toys kids right, toys, buttons, yo yo's light bulbs, h.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
Crazy crazy stuff that they've swallowed.

Speaker 6 (35:19):
I mean, there's a list of like three hundred and
seventy five objects that I had at one point.

Speaker 3 (35:23):
A lot of steak.

Speaker 5 (35:26):
I had a friend who used to own a steakhouse
in Chicago. There was a certain kind of steak he
stopped serving rich k Yeah, it goes. It's another massive
peak way. They would try to swallow too big a
pieces and they yet people choke on it too much.

Speaker 1 (35:37):
That's why they stop serving it.

Speaker 6 (35:38):
Yeah, well you know, the gentleman in Trumble. He actually
was eating steak tidbits at the bar.

Speaker 3 (35:43):
When you think ted, it's almost free cut tidbits.

Speaker 6 (35:46):
Something I think, but it's sometimes they're very fatty true,
I know, right exactly.

Speaker 4 (35:51):
I used to always say to my kids, like to
to to swallow us.

Speaker 3 (35:54):
It's not a back home.

Speaker 6 (35:55):
Yeah, slowly, slowly, Yeah, So you're like what we talk about.

Speaker 3 (36:00):
Yeah, So there's kind of a crazy.

Speaker 6 (36:03):
Story that led me to my volunteer life and my
connection with Arthur because unfortunately it was a car accident
and it was one of those situations where you know,
I was playing soccer, right, a soccer player.

Speaker 3 (36:17):
Of Arthur and I were soccer buddies, yeah, and certainly
high school buddies, but there was such a common link there.
You told me you were a goalkeeper.

Speaker 4 (36:25):
I was a goalkeeper me too, I know, right.

Speaker 3 (36:27):
Crazy.

Speaker 6 (36:28):
So we missed the late bus. My boyfriend and I
decide we're going to walk home. And I'm from upstate
New York and it's like two miles to get to right.
Both of us had working parents, so back in the
days there was no cell phones or anything. So we're walking,
walking and he decides to run across the street, and
I stopped in the middle.

Speaker 4 (36:46):
My mom used always taught me to look both ways.

Speaker 6 (36:47):
I look both ways, and I see this car bearing
down on me, and the car swarts to miss me
and it hits my boyfriend. Now what happened after that?
I honestly, I still remember it like it was yesterday.
This is n eighty. So I'm thirteen years old and
I'm running after this car because I think he's on the.

Speaker 7 (37:05):
Hood of the car.

Speaker 6 (37:06):
I don't know where Tim is. I'm running, running, and
I'm screaming, help me, help me. All these people are coming,
stopping their cars in there. He is in the ditch
and he's a bloody mess. The car hit him at
probably fifty miles an hour, but the car swerved to
miss me, right.

Speaker 4 (37:23):
So now I'm like, it's my fault. It's my fault.
It's my fault.

Speaker 6 (37:26):
So I lived with survivor's guilt for a very long time.
He lived for thirty one years as a paraplegic. He
was never able to walk again, never able to talk again.
He was fed by feeding tube. His identical twinman and
I are best friend. Still, it's a very difficult story
to tell. But that day changed my life. Tim was

(37:47):
a very faithful man. He swore he was fifteen. He's like,
I'm going to marry you. We're going to be missionaries.
You know, it's going to be a beautiful life. I mean,
here were kids, right, and I remember thinking of the time,
and this is the conversation we had right before he
was hit. So it took me a very long time
to go on with my life. And his mother said,
you know, I love you like a daughter, but you

(38:07):
know what, you're thirteen years old.

Speaker 4 (38:09):
She had the rest of your life in front of you. Flashboard.

Speaker 6 (38:14):
Four more years. I get in another horrific car accident.
I feel like the devil's after me. Right, five cars
had on I mean, I don't know how I'm still
alive today.

Speaker 4 (38:23):
All I remember is these angel wings literally.

Speaker 6 (38:25):
Unfolding around me, and when they pulled me out with
the jaws of life. I mean I had a broken nose,
broken ribs, broken knee. I mean I was a mess,
but I was alive, and I and my dad goes, Heidi,
I saw that car.

Speaker 4 (38:38):
Now, I had a seventy seven te Bird. I don't
remember the old t Bird.

Speaker 3 (38:41):
It's huge hole of.

Speaker 4 (38:42):
Our car it wasn't for that car, I would be done.

Speaker 6 (38:45):
And when even the paramedics said the same thing to me,
They're like, we don't know how you're alive right now,
and I go, I don't know, but I know my angel.

Speaker 4 (38:53):
Was with me.

Speaker 3 (38:55):
He wasn't to know who that might have been.

Speaker 6 (38:58):
So another boyfriend of I was killed in a car
accident the year before, so I'm pretty sure it was
Scout Horsley, pretty sure of it. But all these horrib
like I'm fifty eight, so I'm no spring Chicken. But
all I can tell you is that all these horrific
things that happened to me in my life make me
who I am.

Speaker 8 (39:17):
Right.

Speaker 6 (39:17):
And so when Arthur I met him, I had my
business cardholders said stop me before I volunteer again, because
I came to church school for twenty three years.

Speaker 4 (39:25):
I was a Girls Scout leader, a Cap Scout leader,
I had PTA queen. I did.

Speaker 6 (39:29):
I still do the key called fifteen years I've been
a service leader, and you know, I'm on the board
of Kuanas and the KPTC.

Speaker 4 (39:36):
And people are like, I don't know how you do
all this stuff.

Speaker 6 (39:38):
I don't even know, I seriously, but I say to myself.

Speaker 4 (39:44):
It's because of Tim, It's because of Scott, and because.

Speaker 6 (39:47):
God kept me here for a purpose, like and one
of the things I've learned in life, you know, my
faith is really what has always guided me.

Speaker 4 (39:53):
Right, put God first.

Speaker 6 (39:55):
I wake and I pray, and I pray before I
go to and I pray all day and so it's
something that's really kind of part of me, and people
don't understand it unless you're a woman of faith or
a person of faith.

Speaker 4 (40:09):
I should say that it's so hard to get in
my head right.

Speaker 6 (40:13):
So everything that I do is for others because I
know that there's a reason why I'm here, right. And
so when I met Arthur and I heard his story,
He's like, you're a survivor. We're survivors right of horrific
situations that we shouldn't have survived. And that's why it
propels us forward to be better people, to share our

(40:34):
talents with others. And you know, it's such a difficult
story to tell it. I'm so surprised I made it
through without crying. But what we did to me life
is so short, and after this show, I have to
go to a funeral for a friend who was my
son's fourth grade teacher, one of the most amazing women
in the world, care and courage and taken away too soon,

(40:57):
just a year older than me. And I think about
what it impact and how many thousands of kids that
she taught, and everyone told them to tell you the
same thing.

Speaker 4 (41:05):
She was the best teacher I've ever met.

Speaker 3 (41:07):
Wow.

Speaker 4 (41:08):
And you know what.

Speaker 3 (41:08):
And so she had any Hunter or both your children my.

Speaker 6 (41:11):
Hunter yep, and you know, and she really changed my
son into it made him a very vibrant child who
was very kind of quiet and stuff.

Speaker 4 (41:20):
And she always said, he's so smart, you know, he
has such potential.

Speaker 6 (41:23):
And so like it's people like that that you know,
I want to be that person that people remember because
she was a nice person, you know, she she was
kind to me. She she did the right thing. You know,
she helped others, she volunteered. I mean, I don't do
it for accolades, Like it's so cool when you get
an award, but it's not what it's there.

Speaker 4 (41:41):
That's not why I do it, you know.

Speaker 6 (41:43):
And so you know, to me, it's all about just
getting up and being the best person you can be
each day.

Speaker 3 (41:50):
You talk a lot about the importance of faith, and
you know, last week we had that horrific anniversary of
you know, twenty four years before nine to eleven. But
what about the loss of Charlie Kirk.

Speaker 4 (42:04):
It's a horrible thing.

Speaker 3 (42:05):
I mean, it's horrible.

Speaker 6 (42:06):
I mean to me and I tell you all the time,
I don't watch the news. I don't know why I
don't watch the news because there's nothing good to be
said on the news. It's it's a terrible. We're in
a broken world right now. And you know, teaching church
school is really difficult. I have seven and eight year
olds and they'll go, no, Miss Heidia. I don't understand
why that happened, and I don't really have a good.

Speaker 4 (42:26):
Answer, you know. And that's the thing.

Speaker 6 (42:29):
But unfortunately, like and this is what I've learned, people
have strong faith.

Speaker 4 (42:36):
The devil wants to win their soul right, not mine.

Speaker 3 (42:40):
Right, good goal. I've just you know, blown away not
only how we were affected, but the fact that all
of our kids are in an age where this gentleman
Charlie Kirk was affecting them and was and they identified
and they're trying to make sense of it. It kind
of threw me back to think I was born I
would think my mom would pregnant with me when John F.

(43:01):
Kennedy was shot and in the sixties, like that type
of impactful loss.

Speaker 6 (43:07):
And you remember where you were at that time, Like
my girlfriend was actually told me that was the day
she came home from the hospital and nobody was paying
attention to the new baby because this you know, JFK
had gotten shot and it was just I mean, all
of these tragedies that are happening in our world today.
If more people had faith and trusted each other and

(43:28):
did the right thing, then these things wouldn't be happening.
Right And you know, whatever anyone's politics are, it's not
about politics any longer. It's it's human beings killing each
other for what because you have a platform that you
want to share that you you think that you you
know that Luigi who killed that man?

Speaker 4 (43:50):
It was the CEO of a company, you know. I mean,
it's a horrible world we're living in.

Speaker 6 (43:56):
And I mean I grew up Upstate. We learned how
to shoot guns. My father as a sharpshooter in the Navy.
Like we used to go ski shooting. I mean, but
I would never take a rifle to someone, right, even
though I know how to do it right. So I
just feel like there's so many things that we could
learn if we just like I always think, what would
Jesus think of all this if he was here, you know?

Speaker 4 (44:19):
And I don't know. I just hope and pray that
we're not in the end times.

Speaker 3 (44:22):
Yes, well, I can say sometimes it seems like it.
But it's time for a break. We're going to be
back and talk about some really positive news and that
is the count to five thousand. As we narrow in
on five thousand lives saved worldwide with Life Back, We'll
be right back.

Speaker 8 (44:52):
I'm mark the league. See you bet they have life back,
simple choking rescue advice and saying four thousand people ago
only came up with that back. The designers can be
safe and simple. So simply push and pull the vent
systems and when you push it down, the arrow go
out the side to balled out the box and you

(45:12):
pull it up. With any success, there's going to be
comines normally. That's that's the way that I back at
the registered manufacturer in New York. A lot of these products,
and this is one of the most popular ones. It's
made in China. But the real problem it's about ten
to fifteen dollars cheaper. If you put your finger open this,

(45:33):
you won't we want to push it down. Now, I
understand when he's going like this is some of live instin.
So if you bought this and make sure you practice
you don't put your claiming. If you put it like
this or like this, it won't work and your loved one's.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Going to die.

Speaker 8 (45:50):
I understand and buy a cheaper product, but you have
to also remember when you buy a cheap product, you
get a cheaper product and some of the live statement.
So if you think of buying it, make sure you
understand you can not to do this well to someone
who love owns this. Make sure that nate music they
had to wear with the and panic situations not to

(46:10):
cover with this fit then strictly a PSA. I obviously
ill do buy a Life Back very now. It's good
and I know who is our native last forever, but
if you do go with this, please be careful. Ten
bucks and a life mistake.

Speaker 3 (46:29):
Thanks, welcome back in the arena. My name is Rick Thatcher,
along with Paddle Rourke and Heidi Felix, vice president of
sales of Life Back and all around great human being,
I have to say. And ordinarily this is the segment
of the show where we go to South Florida and
talk to Ray Preby. We call him mister three thousand

(46:52):
because why he saves his daughter Maya on a Florida
highway with the life back. I believe she was two
at the time, and we've met Maya, We've talked to
her on a weekly basis, and she is in this
world because the Previews had enough sense to get a
life fact. And one of the most remarkable parts of
the story for me is that in the news coverage

(47:14):
when Ray Priby was interviewed, he started by saying a
little bit of a skeptic view or a down view
of humanity, where he said, today people don't generally care,
but two motorists came over with their life back, and
that wouldn't have happened. I don't know if it was
three four five years ago when you were staring at

(47:37):
sixty two pictures on the wall and trying to trying
to raise awareness. I mean, and all of these people
you were mentioning before the people at the that share
their story, like, hey, hi, do I want to thank you?
Because I say we saved our son, and those moments
and the ring doorbells and the police body camps and
us talking here God dwelling in the arena helped to

(48:00):
raise awareness about the five thousand people that die each year,
and that number. With Arthur Lee and Life Acts help
can go away. And I hope I live to see
that day. Me too.

Speaker 6 (48:12):
Yeah, I mean there'll be one day where there's no
choking tragedies and that'll.

Speaker 4 (48:16):
Be a beautiful thing.

Speaker 3 (48:17):
Absolutely absolutely, we'll get there. So I mentioned that we
normally go to Ray preby Bobby. In Ray's absence, I
will do the I will do the honors of reading
the names. If you could roll the count for us
this year Life Acts tonight, all the line eight two thousand,

(48:37):
eight hundred and seventy four children can go okay, even
hundred and fifteen lives save four thousand, seven hundred and
fifteen marching straight to five thousand.

Speaker 4 (48:49):
You know what, I had one more save this week.

Speaker 6 (48:51):
That was actually from Sincerius Senior living in the middle
of nowhere, Wisconsin, and Arthur sends it to me because
he's had a Parkinson's event down in in India. Napolisox
Study Box and the person that was saved had Parkinson's.

Speaker 4 (49:05):
He goes god wing, Heidi, god wink.

Speaker 3 (49:07):
And I'm like, I know that everywhere cool I called.

Speaker 4 (49:10):
I called me.

Speaker 6 (49:11):
Andy, my VP of clinical operations, and I was like,
we have our thirteenth save and she's like, oh my God.
Like so it's nice to see when it's happening old young,
everyone's being saved in between. But that was again just
the idea that it happened. While he was at the
Parkinson's event. I was like, thank you Lord.

Speaker 3 (49:28):
Yeah, we had miss Groupta on last week and Becky
was Becky Gupta. Anyway, her dad has since passed. But
it was I think four months that they were given
after a choking incident, life fact saved and the family
was able to be around, the person was able to
pass on their own terms, and their final chapter wasn't

(49:52):
a choking tragedy and it just and I always remember
Arthur mentioning a card that he received from a family
heartfelt thanks for inventing life BacT, which again it was
a short period of time, but it was not the
final chapter of their loved ones life.

Speaker 4 (50:09):
Yeah, it's amazing.

Speaker 3 (50:11):
We're making a difference, absolutely, and you had a gosh,
about a month ago you had like four saves and
four days.

Speaker 4 (50:17):
I know, you know, Arthur's like, what are you at.
I'm like, I don't know. It's a couple hundred. I'm
not sure. I keep it like losing track.

Speaker 6 (50:24):
But what I love is for me again, you know,
I have some personal stories.

Speaker 4 (50:28):
You know, you met my.

Speaker 6 (50:29):
Vivian Fitzgerald, who I volunteered with for years. Vivian saved
her own life and she had a father with dementia,
like I have a mother with dementia, so you know,
it's nice. And on my birthday, so that was that
was the Bristols. The Bristols are amazing. We had four
lives saved in less than four months in the dementia
care facilities, and I'm like, this is why I do

(50:51):
what I do. And the best part was on my birthday,
which was Palm Sunday, I get a report of a
woman the same age as my mother with dementia that
was saved right in Garden City.

Speaker 4 (51:01):
I'm like, You've got to be kidding me. This is amazing, right.

Speaker 6 (51:04):
So again, it's it's good to know that a lot
of these organizations are really embracing how important it is
to have another device just to be able to resusciate
somebody if there's ever a situation.

Speaker 4 (51:17):
And they've been so amazing. It's so funny.

Speaker 6 (51:20):
I went and did the training at the headquarters because
I went in my VP of Clinical she's amazing.

Speaker 4 (51:24):
I love her.

Speaker 6 (51:25):
Maureen's like, can you come in and train all my people, Heidi,
and I was like, of course I will, and they're.

Speaker 4 (51:29):
All like, can we have a code?

Speaker 3 (51:31):
Can we have a code?

Speaker 4 (51:31):
We really want to buy it?

Speaker 6 (51:32):
And it was like I walked out of the room
and She's like, you know, everybody here bought one, Heidie,
and I'm like.

Speaker 4 (51:36):
Oh, that's great. So it's not about sales for me though,
you know that, right Marien.

Speaker 6 (51:40):
She's like, no, you know, I mean that everybody here
believes in your product and that's why we implemented it
all the Bristols and so I'm forever grateful on that one.

Speaker 3 (51:49):
And that took a little bit, but amazing.

Speaker 4 (51:51):
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (51:52):
So we have in the audience Ryan Roadshow Warner, and
I wanted to I wanted to talk to about, well,
have Ryan on an upcoming show, as he had a
great assist in a life saved amazing story where he
helped a gentleman just with practicing and being comfortable with it,
and then less than two weeks later he saved a life.

Speaker 4 (52:15):
It's amazing you saved lives.

Speaker 6 (52:18):
And the best part was that I was working with
Brian at one of the costcos I forget where we
were was they hold spell. I had three people, all
first responders, come up to me and all of them
were NASA county officers telling me I used it to
save a life.

Speaker 4 (52:31):
I'm like, did you report it?

Speaker 7 (52:32):
Did you?

Speaker 4 (52:33):
How you didn't report it? It was insane, right, And
I'm like, I say, we're in hold spell and here
all we keep getting is and I kept saying Ryan,
like this is mind blowing.

Speaker 3 (52:43):
Right for those listening across the country. Long Island is
listen Long Island.

Speaker 4 (52:49):
It's a Long Island.

Speaker 3 (52:50):
And if we're out east and these first responders are
out west. But the point is that number one we
see he sees it a lot of people calling or
coming up to him and verbally saying, hey, I use
this and reboard it. Any single, any single ladies, Where

(53:12):
is Ryan going to be next week? Is going to
be going to be in the great state of Maryland.
So as you see this. He's coming to a Costco
near you.

Speaker 6 (53:20):
We are introducing legislation in Maryland, so I'm going to
tell you all about him. He's a wonderful guy, so
I'll give you all the information. So but that'll be
introduced very soon.

Speaker 7 (53:32):
Very excited.

Speaker 3 (53:33):
How'd you feel about when Costco did the right thing?
I mean, other other corporations or other chains have had
tragedies and have had since implemented, but Costco really seemed
to get ahead of it.

Speaker 6 (53:47):
What I love about Costco is thereforward thinking right and
it's I mean, is it a risk assessment and risk management.

Speaker 4 (53:54):
I'm sure you know as a corporation they have to
do that.

Speaker 6 (53:56):
But what they did is they recognize that this little
girl who past she was not even she was shopping
for her fifth birthday party, never even made it out
of the store alive. And what unfolded is you could
only imagine if anybody's ever seen a choking incident, it's
not the way anyone should go.

Speaker 4 (54:12):
It's a really difficult way of dying.

Speaker 6 (54:14):
And they had to shut their store down that day,
I mean everyone who witnessed it. And so they were
proactive and they put it in all their stores and
it's just such a remarkable thing because I always tell
everybody you.

Speaker 4 (54:24):
Guys like Costco, and they're like, I love Costco.

Speaker 6 (54:26):
Well, guess what, They're really amazing because if you walk
into the food court, you will see the life act
on the wall right next to the ad.

Speaker 3 (54:33):
Right and how many now worldwide?

Speaker 4 (54:35):
I think fourteen live saved right inside Costco.

Speaker 3 (54:38):
When I was manning the booths with Ryan, we were
quoting eleven, but I know since then.

Speaker 4 (54:43):
Fifteen, he said, I think it might be fifteen. Yeah,
it came in last week.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
Actually it had to be twelve or thirteen. Just the
hot dog, Well, the hot.

Speaker 4 (54:52):
Dogs are gigantic, that's Sane's. And then the thing, I
literally can't eat hot dogs.

Speaker 6 (54:58):
I mean, I just have such PTSD after all these
stories I've heard so but you know, it's nice.

Speaker 1 (55:05):
Hard candy samples not a good idea.

Speaker 3 (55:07):
Oh my gosh.

Speaker 4 (55:07):
And the hard candy is one of the things that
you hear the most about.

Speaker 1 (55:10):
Peanut butter candy.

Speaker 6 (55:11):
Yet peanut butter, Yeah, marshmallow was one of the last
ones I just heard about, you know what.

Speaker 3 (55:17):
In the last minute and fifteen or so seconds now
as I her and blaberon it's about a minute. I
want to talk and Ray Preeby wanted to talk about
the magic that is Donna Yeisley, she keeper of the Saves.

Speaker 6 (55:30):
I mean, what I love about Donna, And so back
when I started, it was Steve, Donna Arthur and I wow, right,
and Mike's singer at that point, you know, he was
just it's amazing, I think. I walk around, I'm like,
it's amazing to see where we've come, how far we've come.

Speaker 7 (55:47):
But what I love.

Speaker 6 (55:48):
About Donna is she's so incredible. She is a class act.
She always keeps us all together. I would say she's
the glue that holds us together. And she is just
been remarkable and she's a dear friend and I'm just
blessed to have her.

Speaker 3 (56:03):
In my life. She's far too young to be our mom,
but every night she sends the emails with the live
save for the day, and when you take the time
to open them up and see each individual life, family,
community that was touched by life fact, it is truly
truly inspiring.

Speaker 6 (56:17):
And she talks to all of them, and you know
she's she's got a running record of all these thousands
of lives saved.

Speaker 4 (56:22):
So let's keep them coming right awesome, so.

Speaker 3 (56:26):
You've been listening to in the Arena. We love Heidi Felix,
we love pado Urca. I'll be Rick Thatcher and we'll
see you next week. Thank you in the Arena.

Speaker 1 (56:40):
It's no joke.

Speaker 2 (56:41):
When you choke Cigad Life back and without breath, they'll
be death, Cigad life back and God Life back and
God's life back, lie back, life back, life back and
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