Landon Arcadi underwent heart surgery June 30

By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

Thanks to the help of an off-duty state trooper, a young friend, a nurse and a respiratory therapist, 12-year-old Landon Arcadi avoided drowning after he went into cardiac arrest June 2 in the pool at the Northwest Family YMCA in Lysander.

Unfortunately, Landon is not out of the woods yet: He suffered another cardiac arrest June 17 and had surgery June 30 in hopes of preventing further cardiac events.

Friends of the Arcadi family started a GoFundMe fundraising campaign and are asking the community to help defray the family’s medical and living expenses.

“We’ve never asked for help,” said Landon’s father, Tony Arcadi.

“It feels weird,” added Ann Arcadi, Landon’s mother.

Landon was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, which affects 1 out of 4,344 babies annually. He lacks a left ventricle, so his right ventricle must pump blood throughout Landon’s entire body. In a typical heart, the left ventricle pumps blood throughout the circulatory system and the right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs.

On June 30, surgeons in Rochester installed an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to regulate Landon’s heart rhythm and shock him out of cardiac arrest should another arrhythmia occur.

Neighbors and family members are taking care of the Arcadis’ home and pets while they are in Rochester, but it is a tumultuous time for the Arcadis. Tony and Ann have taken leave from their jobs as Landon recovers. Their older son, Domonick, was able to come home from the Marines to see his little brother last month, but he had to return to his job after two weeks.

“We’re not working right now. How are we going to pay the bills?” Tony said. “We don’t know when Landon is going to be home. These are all unknowns.”

Not a boy in a bubble

Tony and Ann Arcadi found out about Landon’s heart condition while Ann was pregnant. Doctors told the Arcadis that hypoplastic left heart syndrome was a “death sentence” and recommended that they terminate the pregnancy.

“We left the office in tears. That was just not an option for us,” Tony said.

The Arcadis researched the condition and consulted medical professionals in Boston. They returned to Central New York determined to carry their baby boy to term and give him the best life possible.

“We knew which questions to ask and we were a little calmer,” Tony said. “The local cardiology [staff] was 100 percent behind us once they realized we were a family that could handle this.”

Landon has now undergone four open-heart surgeries. A previous surgery rerouted his superior vena cava and inferior vena cava to his lungs, so doctors were unable to place the ICD the traditional way, through a vein in the leg to his heart. They had to navigate scar tissue from previous operations as well.

“That creates a unique challenge for the doctors because they’ve never done this to a hypoplastic child,” Tony said.

While he can’t participate in strenuous activity because of his heart condition, Landon is still a very active child. He plays the cello, loves school and dreams of swimming and running track. Tony said the family spends lots of time at Beaver Lake, fishing and walking the trails.

“Landon has always struggled emotionally with the limitations that his heart condition places on him physically. Swimming has been his one redemption,” wrote Morrisa Golden-Sieradski, co-organizer of Landon’s GoFundMe campaign. “While Landon had hopes of joining a swim team and continuing to thrive as a swimmer, he is now unable to participate in swimming because of these events.”

Tony said he and Ann encourage Landon to find his own limits and pace himself with his activities.

“We don’t want to create a kid that sits around and thinks about his illness — he’s so much more than that,” he said. “We’re not going to stick him in a bubble.”

Helping hands

Trooper Shaun Smith was swimming laps in the NWFY pool June 2 as part of training for the Ironman 70.3 Syracuse. Smith saw two young boys swimming in the lane next to him when one of them disappeared beneath the surface.

“I figured they were messing around until I saw his friend’s face,” Smith said.

Landon’s friend managed to bring Landon up from the bottom of the pool, and Smith and other bystanders immediately took action.

“I pulled Landon out of the water and his face was blue, his ears were blue,” Smith recalled.

Smith thought Landon was drowning until he realized the child was in cardiac arrest.

“I flipped him over and saw a scar on his chest,” Smith said.

Smith began CPR and rescue breaths as a lifeguard called 911 and brought an automated external defibrillator. Two other YMCA members, who happened to be a registered nurse and a respiratory therapist, joined the rescue effort as well. Landon began to breathe on his own and was transported to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse.

“It was harrowing and it’s changed my life. I’m sure it’s changed Landon’s life,” Smith said. “In my field of work, you don’t get a save. By the time I normally get there — car wrecks, people getting hurt, people getting shot — you try the best you can to get that person back. … He fought like crazy.”

Smith said he’s gained a new best friend — albeit a much younger best friend who attends the same school as Smith’s kids.

“I’ve gotten to see him twice and each time he has rebounded and he’s full of life,” Smith said. “Every time I see him, I get kind of choked up. Having a 12-year-old, I wouldn’t be able to fathom the idea of not having my 12-year-old anymore.”

Smith stressed that he’s not the only hero of Landon’s story. He credits Landon’s friend, the two women who helped him give Landon CPR and the YMCA staff with acting quickly and calmly.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did if it weren’t for the other people who helped,” Smith said. “They weren’t afraid to get right in there, and that’s what a community is all about.”

What’s next

While Landon still has a long recovery ahead of him, the Arcadis plan to push for local law enforcement agencies and more public places to have AEDs on hand. They’re planning to get one for their own home, too.

“The YMCA is amazing. I don’t know if we’d still have him with us if they hadn’t been so prepared,” Tony Arcadi said.

Tony said the family once had a scare when Landon began throwing up blood from a cardiac arrhythmia. They called 911 and officers from the Baldwinsville Police Department arrived first, but they did not have an AED.

“We were glad they were there, but they had nothing to offer,” Tony recalled.

Tony said his neighbor, Cindy Clarke, encouraged her brother, Baldwinsville Mayor Dick Clarke, to acquire an AED for the village hall, but the Arcadis would like to see an AED in every B’ville police car.

“To think that the local police in the area don’t carry AEDs — if this had happened at home, if Ann and Landon hadn’t decided to go to the Y that night … ” Tony said. “Early detection and AED were his lifeline.”

To donate to the Arcadi family’s medical and living expenses, visit gofundme.com/28txsgk.