She gave me life and then saved my life: Janesville woman shares story of mother saving her during cardiac arrest

More than a year after her heart suddenly stopped inside her mother’s Janesville home, Amber Berg is now able to sit beside her mom and share the story herself.

This Mother’s Day, Berg and her mother, Carolyn Moore, are reflecting on the day Moore performed CPR to save her daughter’s life while waiting for first responders to arrive.

Moore had been outside gardening before coming back inside to talk with Berg, who was sitting in the living room. Moments later, Berg told her mother she felt dizzy.

“She says, ‘I am so dizz...’” Moore recalled. “And she just was right there, sitting. It was so fast, and it was so scary.”

Moore immediately called 911 and began CPR with guidance from the dispatcher over the phone.

“She helped me through CPR and she played the music, told me what to do the whole time,” Moore said. “Yeah, she just helped me through. She was so good.”

Berg said she remembers very little from the emergency itself, only faint memories before losing consciousness.

“Well, my heart stopped, basically,” Berg said.

Doctors placed Berg in an induced coma for about two weeks after the cardiac arrest.

“The doctors first thought that I was going to die,” Berg said. “So that’s what my family thought.”

Berg said doctors also warned the family she could suffer severe brain damage if she survived.

Instead, she spent months recovering in the hospital and rehabilitation, relearning how to walk, talk and complete everyday tasks.

“Yeah, everything, like, I had to re-learn,” Berg said. “Well first how to breathe, talk, walk, use the shower, stand in the shower, all those simple things.”

More than a year later, Berg said she still struggles with memory loss, tremors and slowed speech and movement.

“My speech is slower, walking slower, pain, things like that,” Berg said.

Throughout the recovery, Berg said her family — especially her mother — stayed by her side every step of the way.

“They were out there about every day,” Berg said.

“Oh, every day. Yeah, we lived up there,” Moore added.

Now, the pair said Mother’s Day carries a much deeper meaning.

“This moment right here is pretty great,” Berg said.

When asked why she wanted to share the story now, Berg became emotional talking about her mother.