PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — A cardiac arrest patient got the chance to meet and thank Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crew for saving his life, when he suddenly collapsed while playing basketball.
One by one, Nephtali Pierre is thanking the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue crew that saved his life. He said all he knows today is that he woke up at HCA Florida JFK Hospital. How he got to the hospital is still a blur.
“I just woke up here, to be honest with you,” he said.
Thankfully, the crew that helped him is now helping him again. But this time to paint the picture of how he ended up hospitalized. They said on Dec. 29, a call came in about cardiac arrest at the basketball court at Savona Grand Apartments in Boynton Beach.
They said when they got there, a stranger was already doing CPR on Pierre.
“It's crucial, when you're in cardiac arrest, seconds count," Ada Rayburn of Palm Beach Fire Rescue said. "That early CPR is possibly what saved his life.”
Right now, no one knows who that mystery hero is that gave Pierre CPR until paramedics got there, but their quick thinking is what’s letting Pierre say these words.
“Thank you for assisting me. I really, dearly appreciate it," Pierre said. "If I could, I could give you a hug right now.”
For now, Pierre is thanking Palm Beach County Fire Rescue.
“All I’m worried about is, if I’m going be able to play sports again,” he said.
He’s hopeful he will. He’ll have a defibrillator put in Tuesday.
It’ll be a step towards returning to the life he knew before he suddenly collapsed and the kindness of a stranger and professionalism of Palm Beach Fire Rescue saved his life.
For more information on how to access CPR training or to sign up for classes, click here.