HENRICO COUNTY, Va., -- A Henrico woman - who doctors once feared would never walk or talk again - is searching for the Good Samaritan that helped her after an early 2018 crash.
Meg Catlett was driving down Patterson Avenue in Henrico's West End when she suffered sudden cardiac arrest sometime between 6 and 7 p.m. on January 22, 2018.
She was on her way to Patterson Eye Clinic for a follow-up eye appointment after undergoing cataracts surgery.
"I was told when the person behind me at the light honked I just floored it and went into the curb into garbage cans," Catlett described.
Catlett, 57, said doctors would later inform her she was without oxygen to her brain for more than 10 minutes as paramedics attempted to restart her heart.
"If you don’t have oxygen to your brain within 8 minutes you’re either going to be physically or mentally impaired, or both," she recalled. "They had to paddle me twice in the field to get me back."
Her memory from that terrifying day has vanished.
"I don`t even remember being at work that day. I don`t remember driving down to Patterson Eye Clinic," Catlett said.
However, she does recall the events that led up to her crash.
The person Catlett called her best friend, her sister Lucinda Hope, was suddenly found dead about a month prior to the accident.
"She was a nurse practitioner at UVA hospital [in Charlottesville] and she didn't show up for work," she remembered. "I called a dear friend of mine that lives around the corner and he went to her house. They called police and battering rammed the backdoor and found her on the sofa."
Lucinda Hope had lost her battle with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Catlett was also forced to put her sister's dog down due to old age weeks later.
She attributes stress as a contributing factor for her sudden cardiac arrest.
A DMV crash report stated officers charged Catlett with failing to maintain control following the crash.
"I guess that happens when you’re dead behind the wheel right?" she laughed.
But, Catlett was told there was an individual who witnessed the crash, called 911 and helped her prior to paramedics arriving. That person didn't leave behind any identifying information.
"If I could find the good Samaritan who stayed with me and if I could find the EMTs that paddled me and saved me -- I'd be so appreciative," she pleaded.
When seconds and minutes mattered at times of crisis, Catlett said she wants to meet the one person who gave her a fighting chance.
"I wouldn’t call it a second chance. I would say that I wasn’t finished with whatever I was put here to do," Catlett stated. "I've had a lot of people ask if I saw the big tunnel with the white light, and I say no because it wasn’t my time to go."
If you have any information that may help lead Meg Catlett to her Good Samaritan, contact Brendan King.
