Recently installed AED saves Minnesota man's life on the pickleball court

The Kitchen Team

Covering all things pickleball

Last Edited

Oct 08 2025

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News

Rory Bakke and his girlfriend, Sunny Saengdara, were playing pickleball at a park in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, last weekend when Bakke collapsed and needed emergency medical assistance.

Fortunately for Bakke, Saengdara is a nurse and an automated external defibrillator (AED) was recently installed at Miller Park, where they were playing.

"I just kind of sprang into nurse Sunny, because I had to," Saengdara told local CBS affiliate WCCO-TV. "I had no other choice."

She performed CPR and used the AED to shock his heart, which ultimately helped save his life.

"(I was) trying to hold it together and trying to almost separate the fact that this is my boyfriend that it's happening to," she said. "It's still quite surreal to me."

Read next: The scariest things pickleball players have seen on the court

The AED had been installed near the pickleball courts just 12 days before the incident after being requested by Eden Prairie Parks and Recreation several months ago.

According to Paul Mendoza, whose company, Advanced First Aid Inc., installed the AED used on Bakke, this is the fourth person his devices have saved on pickleball courts this year.

"Having an AED shock right away is a gamechanger," Mendoza said. "That's the treatment, the only treatment that can save someone's life."

Saengdara encouraged others to learn CPR and understand what steps to take during an emergency situation.

"Everyone should know CPR," she said. "Like watch a video or take a class, and know where the AED is."