My fiancé L was to have open heart surgery to replace her valve. Unfortunately, the surgery was called off due to an abnormality, and we regrouped to see why. A bone marrow biopsy was done. All vitals seemed well intact, and she was given the green light to be discharged. This discharge was planned around 10:15 a.m. I left her CCU room to go get her clothes from the car.

Upon returning to the room, Olivia had removed all her IVs and Swan-Ganz tube. Olivia said to come and get her after she was dressed. She closed the curtain and the door to the room. L got up and retrieved her suitcase. Upon standing up, she got disoriented, hot, and needed air. She went back to her bed, lay down, and collapsed. She was in cardiac arrest, with no movement and no breathing. I tried to get her to respond. She did not. I ran around the curtain and banged on the glass door to Olivia and motioned for her to come. She came running in, and she was unable to revive her. She hit the “code blue” button. Joe came running in to assist Olivia. They did compressions and got her heart to start back up. It took 6 minutes! They also shocked her to get her heart back into rhythm. She ended up with a few cracked ribs and more IVs and tubes inserted to get her stabilized.

I truly know that these two nurses saved L’s life, and if it were not for their bravery, skills, and timeliness, L would not have survived. L received an upgrade to her pacemaker with an ICD later that week and was discharged.

Due to these life-changing events, she and I got married the next weekend! We knew life was too short. We are eternally grateful to these two nurses for their heroic help, assistance, and support. Since this event, L got her open-heart surgery to replace her valve. She continues to get stronger every day.