Bethany Keime
Bethany Keime is a beacon of body positivity and a patient powerhouse who co-founded HeartCharged in 2020, just a few years after her diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and only months after her defibrillator implantation surgery. Bethany was compelled to start what began as a simple Instagram account, recognising the need to gain strength from others like herself and finding a lack of real-life information for young heart patients. She began posting her realities, and others quickly found her.
Now, HeartCharged has grown into a global awareness and advocacy organisation as well as a patient community, truly saving lives in unique and innovative ways. Bethany is a recognised leader in the resuscitation and patient advocacy communities.
Bethany shares something in common with each HeartCharged Woman she has created. Like the homemaker, she is a talented baker. Like the teacher, she educates others on how to prevent avoidable deaths and also teaches dance. Like the athlete, she enjoys exercising, and although she can no longer dance professionally, she holds a university degree in dance performance. Like all of them, Bethany is prepared for resuscitation, and in her case, she has her own implanted defibrillator should she experience sudden cardiac arrest. She has also prepared tens of thousands of others for resuscitation through free training sessions, educational videos and messaging, and defibrillator donations.
Bethany works professionally in the political arena and advocates fiercely within the same space to make life-saving measures, which could save thousands of children each year, not just hoped for but ensured. She cries hard and fights harder when a preventable death occurs.
Bethany is a thoughtful author, talented social media content creator, frequent podcast guest, and bold speaker.
About Bethany’s work “HeartCharged Woman: HOMEMAKER”:
This HeartCharged Woman’s love language is all heart, from scrumptious cookies to cardiac arrest readiness.
She knows that 80% of sudden cardiac arrests happen in the home.
She would no more be caught unprepared for that emergency than leave dirty dishes in the sink at night. She loves doing whatever she can for her family so, after she made their beds, she made herself resuscitation ready.
She knows even a healthy-looking young woman such as herself can go into sudden cardiac arrest and need a shock from a defibrillator which requires the pads go on the bare chest. But since her family barely dresses themselves, she doubts they’ll undress her.
That’s why she’s done it for them and put the pads in place. She hopes her loved ones would rather use a defibrillator on her than make their own beds in the morning. If she could do more for herself, she certainly would, but during a sudden cardiac arrest, the person goes unconscious.
Here’s hoping this HeartCharged Woman’s family won’t consider it a chore to jolt her back to life and she can keep serving up those nice warm cookies.
About Bethany’s work “HeartCharged Woman: ATHLETE”:
This HeartCharged woman is as comfortable being topless on the tennis court as she is in her own boudoir.
She knows sudden cardiac arrest has struck down many athletes and is the leading killer of student athletes.
But she doesn’t know whether her partners, at home and on the court, have decided they would flash the boobs to save a life, so she’s already flashing hers. That saves any potential lifesavers not only the challenge of making that decision but also the valuable seconds it would take to remove her shirt.
This HeartCharged Woman considers that a score.
Speaking of which, in tennis a score of love means nothing. In a cardiac arrest, it should be loved by all. Everyone of every gender and every race should receive CPR and an AED, giving an advantage to every cardiac arrest victim.
About Bethany’s work “HeartCharged Woman: TEACHER”:
This HeartCharged Woman has a lesson she wants everyone to learn.
She knows sudden cardiac arrest is the number one killer on school campuses.
This HeartCharged Woman wants you prepared for the real skills examination that comes when someone goes into sudden cardiac arrest. She knows some people won’t make the grade because they won’t flash the boobs to save a life, so she’s already flashing hers. Deciding to do so should not be a subject for discussion.
This HeartCharged Woman knows it’s a textbook case of needing to do the right thing, and the right thing is to flash the boobs to save a life. Acting in a sudden cardiac arrest is, after all, a timed test where seconds matter.
This HeartCharged Woman realizes we can’t get a 100% on resuscitation efforts but wants you to realize it’s the A+ for effort that counts.
* Each HeartCharged Woman in this series comes from the minds of Bethany & Hannah Keime, Co-Founders of HeartCharged, and is portrayed by one of them as well. They are part of the Flash The Boobs to Save A Life campaign, bringing needed attention to the fact that women are less likely to be resuscitated in a cardiac emergency for two reasons, their boobs. That’s why each HeartCharged Woman is certified ‘Resuscitation Ready’, boobs bared and defibrillator pads attached, saving any bystanders from having to make the decision to remove their top or the time it would have taken.
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