An off-duty nurse in the right place at the right time helped save a man after he had a heart attack while driving home in Gilbert, Arizona, which is around 22 miles outside of Phoenix. “All the sudden my vision kind of tunneled up, I got extremely dizzy, never like that before and I blacked out and that’s when my heart stopped,” 69-year-old Bob Durling told KNXV. Some folks nearby sought to help Durling, pulling him from his vehicle. Among them was Courtney Johnson, a nurse who had just left a local hospital after working the night shift.Without a second thought, Johnson began performing CPR on Durling and continued to care for him until the Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department arrived on the scene. “At that moment, it wasn’t even speaking so to speak, it was more of an instinct,” Johnson said of her instinct to start doing CPR on Durling.”I woke up and saw four strangers staring down at me and they immediately said Mr. Durling you’ve had a heart attack you’re in the back of an ambulance,” Durling said.Doctors implanted a stent and a defibrillator, and Durling — a grandfather of 10 — is living without any serious complications, according to KNXV.Last week, Durling had a chance to meet the people who helped save his life.”I was ecstatic when I got that phone call saying he had made it and was doing well,” Johnson said. An avid cyclist who rides more than 30 miles per day, Durling was wearing a cycling shirt at the time of the incident. He calls the group of people who worked to save his life his “guardian angels,” and asked them to sign the shirt.”I’ve never been asked for an autograph before,” Captain Jose Garcia of Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department said. Johnson was the first person to sign the shirt. “It was actually an honor,” she said.After the procedures were a success, Durling is happy for a second chance at life. “All those little things came together in a matter of minutes to make sure I’m here to enjoy time with my grandkids and family and continue to live my life,” Durling said.’And those who saved him are filled with joy that Durling is feeling better. “It’s (an) absolute joy to see him walk through the door,” Garcia said. “Honestly I can’t explain it. We don’t get to see that all the time. But it sends tingles up your spine when you see Bob come in here and we saw him a month ago on the worst day of his life.” See more in the video player above
An off-duty nurse in the right place at the right time helped save a man after he had a heart attack while driving home in Gilbert, Arizona, which is around 22 miles outside of Phoenix.
“All the sudden my vision kind of tunneled up, I got extremely dizzy, never like that before and I blacked out and that’s when my heart stopped,” 69-year-old Bob Durling told KNXV.
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Some folks nearby sought to help Durling, pulling him from his vehicle. Among them was Courtney Johnson, a nurse who had just left a local hospital after working the night shift.
Without a second thought, Johnson began performing CPR on Durling and continued to care for him until the Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department arrived on the scene.
“At that moment, it wasn’t even speaking so to speak, it was more of an instinct,” Johnson said of her instinct to start doing CPR on Durling.
“I woke up and saw four strangers staring down at me and they immediately said Mr. Durling you’ve had a heart attack you’re in the back of an ambulance,” Durling said.
Doctors implanted a stent and a defibrillator, and Durling — a grandfather of 10 — is living without any serious complications, according to KNXV.
Last week, Durling had a chance to meet the people who helped save his life.
“I was ecstatic when I got that phone call saying he had made it and was doing well,” Johnson said.
An avid cyclist who rides more than 30 miles per day, Durling was wearing a cycling shirt at the time of the incident. He calls the group of people who worked to save his life his “guardian angels,” and asked them to sign the shirt.
“I’ve never been asked for an autograph before,” Captain Jose Garcia of Gilbert Fire and Rescue Department said.
Johnson was the first person to sign the shirt.
“It was actually an honor,” she said.
After the procedures were a success, Durling is happy for a second chance at life.
“All those little things came together in a matter of minutes to make sure I’m here to enjoy time with my grandkids and family and continue to live my life,” Durling said.
‘And those who saved him are filled with joy that Durling is feeling better.
“It’s (an) absolute joy to see him walk through the door,” Garcia said. “Honestly I can’t explain it. We don’t get to see that all the time. But it sends tingles up your spine when you see Bob come in here and we saw him a month ago on the worst day of his life.”
See more in the video player above
