KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City man is alive today thanks to the quick actions of a young woman who knew CPR.
Chris Hervey had just arrived to a hotel in Columbia, Missouri, last August for a family member's wedding reception. He was visiting with family members in one of the rooms.
"I sat down, had a beer and that was it," Hervey said.
It's the last thing he remembers before his heart stopped. The next thing he knew, he was in a hospital bed.
"I wasn't sure why I was there, I thought I had been in a car wreck," Hervey said.
He later learned that he suffered cardiac arrest and his sister and nephew's girlfriend, Lillianna Caplan, jumped in to action to help.
Caplan began doing chest compressions until police and paramedics arrived.
"It was just a miracle in a bunch of ways for me, but also I'm just grateful I was there to help and I knew what I was doing," Caplan said.
Caplan said the timing worked out perfectly because Hervey had just been driving on the interstate and was about to go swimming in the pool with his daughters. The outcome could have been much worse had he suffered cardiac arrest not long before or after.
Caplan had just received her Certified Nursing Assistant qualification and CPR certification a few months prior.
David Gibson, paramedic supervisor for the University of Missouri Ambulance Service, said if it hadn't been for her quick actions, the outcome would've been very different.
"One, it might have been we never did get a pulse back or if we did, we'd get a pulse back but there would have been no brain left or a severely damaged brain," Gibson said.
Hervey still isn't sure what caused his heart to stop, but said he's doing great and will always be grateful to Caplan. He was able to meet her several weeks later.
"I gave her a big hug, said thank you for saving my life and thank you for breaking my ribs, same with my sister, it's fantastic," Hervey said.
Both Hervey and Caplan hope their story will inspire others to get CPR certified.
"It can happen anywhere at any time, so I would always just say go and get it, it's not that much and it's a lifesaver, it really is," Caplan said.
