Woman meets first responders to help save her life after cardiac arrest

A woman who went into cardiac arrest during a half marathon back in April finally had the chance to thank the first responders who saved her life.

It’s a reunion that many people don’t get, especially after an unexpected medical emergency.

Nearly four months after suffering a cardiac arrest, Jaimee Kirby, along with her family, got to shake the hands of the first responders who jumped into action. The reunion happened at McKinney Fire Station 6.

The morning of April 29started as expected. Kirby preparing for the run like usual. She’s been an athlete most ofher life, and fully expected to cross the finish line by keeping pace with another runner. The run didn’t go as planned.

“And she turned around and was like ‘Hey are you coming?’ And I was like ‘I’m going to have to stop, my heart’s going too fast.’ And that’s really all I remember,” she said.

She woke up in the hospital thinking, perhaps, something minor had happened.

“Did I just faint? Did I not eat enough for breakfast? And she kind of patted me on the back and was like ‘Oh no honey, a little bit more severe than that, you went into cardiac arrest,’” Kirby said.

Then she started getting pieces of the story and realized it was the quick action of fellow runners and first responders that gave her a fighting chance.

McKinney firefighter Ronnie Eernisse arrived on the scene and jumped into action, helping to restore Kirby’s pulse and transport her to a nearby hospital.

“We realized she was in a cardiac rhythm called V-fib so we shocked her, started doing CPR, and long story short on the way to the hospital she was alert, oriented and talking to us,” Eernisse said.

He said it was the quick thinking of those who were there before him during the critical first few moments that gave him and his crew a head start. Off-duty Dallas firefighter, Kevin Luper, was at the event cheering for his wife when he noticed the commotion.

“The bystanders were all doing great CPR. Someone put a cell phone in my hand when I said I was a firefighter and let them [dispatch] know what was going on, and then from there I just jumped in and helped with the chest compressions,” said Luper.

Luper says there was never a question about what to do.

“I would’ve wanted someone to do the same for my wife as well and my family,” Luper said.

Kirby, a young wife, and mother of three, said she’s had an arrhythmia for years. But doctors told her, many times, the reasons for cardiac arrest can’t be fully explained. Now, a pacemaker defibrillator placed just above her heart is the new norm.

She considers it a small adjustment for a second chance at life.

“These guys are the tools that God put here in my life to keep me here and to love on me, and to love me well and to take care of me,” she said.

McKinney Fire Department also presented Kirby with a plaque, a reminder of how their paths crossed and her survival.