CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A teacher at the University of Virginia who suffered sudden cardiac arrest recently reunited with the people who helped save his life.
Andrew Walker had a heart attack while he was sleeping last March, WCAV reported.
Walker's wife, Katie, knew something was wrong in the middle of the night when he was making noises. So she "slapped him the middle of his chest."
"His eyes were wide open and unresponsive. So I grabbed the phone, called 911, put them on speaker and I started CPR on the bed," Katie Walker recalled. "I was able to give him CPR until first responders arrived and took him to UVA."
Walker met with the dispatchers, members of Albemarle County Fire and Police as well as UVA Health staffers on Thursday.
William Brady, a professor of emergency medicine at UVA, said what happened to Walker illustrates the importance of CPR.
"Eight minutes can mean the difference between living and dying," Brady said. "The patient's wife, Katie, demonstrated that here. She kept him alive until the fire department arrived and resuscitated him."
While Walker does not recall much of what happened during his medical emergency, he was thankful to be able to meet the people who saved his life.
"They helped save my life but also helped to comfort my family, like my son," Andrew Walker said. "That's a big deal."
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