A Florida man says it’s a “miracle” that an observation nurse was around when he began having a heart attack at a North Carolina airport — with doctors saying that without her taking action, he would have probably died.
Claire Cerbie was waiting to board her flight to Knoxville, Tenn., at Charlotte Douglas International Airport on June 7 when she noticed Ken Jeffries, 57, in medical distress as they sat at the same gate, WBTV reported .
Except for Cerbie – who is a registered nurse – no one noticed that Jeffries was suffering a heart attack.
“The way you were snoring and breathing it looked like you were having a heart attack based on what I’ve seen before,” Cerbie told Jeffries in a media-created Zoom reunion call Monday.
Without hesitation, Cerbie rushed to help her fellow traveler and directed others to help her.
She began performing CPR on Jeffries after telling another good Samaritan to get a defibrillator.
“We put the pads on,” the registered nurse told the media.
“He showed some shocking pace and rattled it up the middle as we were scrambling.”
Cerbie — who previously worked at Atrium Health’s Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute in Charlotte — worked tirelessly with others for the 57-year-old, trying to keep him alive until first responders arrived.
Fortunately, after about 10 minutes of providing life-saving care, Jeffries regained a pulse.
“He had his own pace. He was breathing on his own and we just stood by him until the paramedics arrived,” she said.
Jeffries was then rushed to Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, where he underwent emergency surgery.
Dr. William Downey, a cardiologist at the Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute who performed the surgery, said that if Cerbie had not stepped in and performed chest compressions and used the defibrillator, Jeffries would have died , according to the newspaper.
The Jacksonville, Fla., resident was overcome with emotion as he reconnected with his rescuer for the first time since the medical emergency.
“It’s a miracle that I was in that place at that time when it happened and the people around me are there,” he told Cerbie wholeheartedly.
A ‘thank you’ is not enough, Claire. Thank you for what you did, I am very grateful and indebted to you.”
The humble nurse replied that she was glad to be there to help and that her years of experience were enough to keep him alive.
“I’m so glad I was there that day to help you. I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat,” she said.
“I’m so glad to see you’re doing so well.”
American Airlines upgraded Cerbie to first class on her flight to Knoxville to show appreciation for saving the lives of her fellow passengers, WBTV reported.
Jeffries explained to the newspaper that he had not noticed any signs or symptoms of a heart attack before the cardiac arrest.
A heart attack – or myocardial infarction – is a serious medical emergency that occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is suddenly blocked, stopping the heart from getting enough oxygen.
Every 40 seconds, a person will suffer a heart attack in the United States, according to the CDC.
About 805,000 people in the United States have a heart attack each year.
“About 1 in 5 heart attacks are silent — the damage is done, but the person isn’t aware of it,” the CDC says.
Eating healthy, exercising regularly, sleeping seven to nine hours a night, quitting smoking and managing stress levels can significantly lower a person’s chances of having a heart attack, according to the American Heart Association.