It started as just an ordinary day but what happened that day in 1981 would be anything but ordinary for Barbara and Kevin Kunz. Witnessing sudden cardiac arrest and then effectively applying a reflexology technique that day would be the source of continual discussion over the years about why this would happen. A second incident (see below) would confirm the decision some to include the technique as the first test in fMRI research at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine in 2023.

Could a simple reflexology technique serve as a possible addict to medical care for resuscitation from sudden cardiac arrest, the failure of the electrical system of the heart to maintain a regular heartbeat and one of the deadliest killers in the world? Research using brain imaging by fMRI may provide clues.

“She’s dead, she’s dead,” came the cry from another room. We were making house call and Kevin was giving a reflexology session to the husband of the house.

Suddenly from the bedroom we heard, “She’s dead, she’s dead.” It was caregivers for the lady of the house, an elderly invalid who had been diagnosed with multiple strokes and senile dementia, signaling apparent sudden cardiac arrest.

We rushed into the room as the caregivers rushed out. We found Mrs. Wallace sitting in her wheelchair slumped to one side. Barbara had called 911 on the way, handing the phone to one of the caregivers for address information. Kevinattempted mouth to mouth resuscitation with no results. He said, “I don’t know CPR. What should I do?” Barbara replied, “Do what you know, go for the feet.”

At that point, Mrs. Wallace sat upright in her wheelchair and began moving her feet. Concerned she would injure herself, Kevin reached to move out of the way the wheelchair foot rests to prevent injury as he asked, “Mrs. Wallace, Mrs. Wallace, do you know who I am?” She replied, “Yes, you’re a jackass.”

From the other room came the sounds of laughter from the caregivers. They knew she was back; she always talked like that.The rescue squad had been delayed, unable to find the house. The house had recently been repainted with house numbers removed and not replaced. It took responders ten minutes to respond to the call. When they arrived they found nothing wrong with Mrs. Wallace nor was anything found at the hospital. She lived another two years.

Curiously enough, we had watched a CPR program the previous weekend about how to do. It ended by saying, and next weekend we’ll show you how to do it. We never saw the second half.

When we tell these stories, people ask, why does this keep happening to you?

It was a few days into our visit to our friends Michael and Deborah in a remote village on the west coast of Ireland. During a late night / early morning

conversation, Michael suddenly stopped breathing and moving. While the absence or presence of a heartbeat was not confirmed at the time, he did not respond to

shouts and gentle slaps on the face. He showed no signs of life.

Kevin applied pressure ten times to the center of the left big toe and moved on to apply pressure to the right big toe. A faint sound of inhalation came from Michael and, at the seventh contact, he sat up, alert and conscious, and said, “Barbara, Kevin, Deborah, why are you all standing over me?” He was up and moving within minutes.

Michael was later diagnosed with Brugada Syndrome. The only symptom is sudden cardiac arrest. Brugada is a genetic condition where abnormalities in the heart’s ability to beat regularly lead to a high risk for ventricular fibrillation. His treatment would include an implantable cardiac defibrillator. We celebrate the anniversary of the incident every year.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the leading cause of death for young men under the age of 40 after accidents in the Philippines. Brugada incidence is particularly high in

Southeast Asia where legend has it a young man will wake up early in the morning, cry out and die. In the Philippines it is known as bangungut (“to rise and moan in sleep”), in Japan as pokkuri (“sudden and unexpectedly ceased phenomena”) and in Thailand as Lai Tai (“death during sleep”).

An Irish chain of Brugada Syndrome has been discovered and studies continue at a Dublin hospital.

Could reflexology provide an adjunct technique for one of the world’s leading causes of death — sudden cardiac arrest? The goal of CPR, Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation, is to maintain oxygen flow to the brain following cardiac arrest.

Lack of oxygen to the brain results in unconsciousness and death. What if there were multiple ways to re-establish the heart beat? How could research be instituted to test the potential for this natural defibrillator?

We hope to find an understanding of possibilities to answer this question with further analysis of brain images collected during Neural Pathways of Applied Reflexology. Such analysis could show regions of the brain activated by application of technique to the specific reflex area of the big toe. After all, pressure to the bottoms of the feet communicates the level of one’s activity (i. e. running or walking) to the brain with response by the cardiovascular system and change if needed in the rate at which the heart beats.

(Note: We encourage anyone in a similar situation to call for emergency help. With Michael, we were in a foreign country and did not know how to call paramedics. We also did not know CPR.)