60-year love story inspires AED donation

George Myers, of Willow Springs, honored his late wife Wanda with a donation to Willow Care Nursing Home last week. On Monday, Feb. 10, Myers presented an automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to the facility. 

 

“In a way, it was a continuation of my love story with Wanda,” Myers told Howell County News. “It was getting close to Valentine’s and thinking of her, and I wanted to do something in her memory.”

 

George and Wanda were married for 58 years. She passed away at the age of 80 in July 2023. 

 

“There was a number of reasons that came together,” he said.

 

Wanda volunteered at Willow Care for many years, according to her husbann. He estimates she made between 8,000 and 9,000 rosaries for residents. Wanda was a resident herself on and off during her final year of life.

 

“She always liked the residents there, and I thought it might help somebody. I knew they didn’t have an AED,” George said. 

 

The use of AEDs can be the difference in resuscitation before permanent brain damage occurs, commented Willow Care Administrator Stacey Smith. 

 

“In settings that serve individuals over the age of 80, there is a greater likelihood of sudden cardiac arrest. And automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) can save lives no matter the age of the recipient,” Smith said.

 

As Myers pointed out, February is American Heart Month, and the week of Valentine’s Day seemed like the perfect time to honor his wife, who died of heart failure.

 

“She was my life. We were crazy about each other,” Myers said.