Nurse’s Garden-Side Heroics Earn Her ‘Florida’s Finest’ Honors After Heart Attack Rescue

A quiet day at a Sun City Center community garden turned into a life-saving mission last October when a local man suddenly collapsed while tending his plot.

The man survived the cardiac arrest thanks to the immediate intervention of Sharon Gibbs, a cardiac nurse who happened to be walking nearby on her day off.

For her quick thinking and medical expertise, Senator Ashley Moody presented Gibbs with the Florida’s Finest Award. The honor is reserved for citizens and law enforcement officers who show extraordinary courage to save lives.

When the man fell, Gibbs immediately directed her husband to find the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) while she began performing CPR. She continued the life-saving measures until emergency responders arrived on the scene.

“A man is alive today because of the decisive action by one of Florida’s Finest: Sharon Gibbs,” Senator Moody said during the presentation. “Sharon, a cardiac nurse on her day off, happened to be walking by a community garden at the exact moment a man collapsed from heart failure. She quickly sent her husband for the nearest AED and performed CPR until responders arrived, saving the man’s life. She is truly a hero, and I am honored to present her with a Florida’s Finest Award.”

The victim was transported to a nearby hospital where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery.

Following the procedure and subsequent recovery, he has since returned home.