Heart of Gulf: Heart attack survivor meets lifesavers

MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — What happened at Springhill Toyota in Mobile a couple of months ago is what many are calling divine intervention.

“It was very, very scary, and very scary for my family and my kids and grandkids. It just doesn’t seem real at times,” said Lisa Perry.

A trip to have her car serviced would end up saving Perry’s life because of a chain of events beginning with a stranger sitting six feet away.

“She was drinking a cup of coffee and I heard her start to snore. What I thought at the time was sleep apnea. All of a sudden I heard her gasp. That’s when I looked at her and I knew,” said Shennon Lambeth, who realized Perry was having a heart attack.

Lambeth, who is a nurse, and two other nurses sprang into action. They grabbed the dealership’s A-E-D defibrillator and kept her alive until Mobile Fire-Rescue could get there.

“Between them and God..is why I’m still here,” said Perry who was in a coma for two and a half months.

Statistics show 90 percent of people who have a heart attack outside of a hospital die.

“Thank God Springhill had the A-E-D here. we know how to use it. We put it into action and that’s why she’s here,” said Lambeth, who points out they performed CPR without doing mouth-to-mouth which allowed them to keep on their masks for social distancing.

For more information on hands-only CPR, click here.

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