Zephyrhills man’s life saved after good Samaritans perform CPR at beach for 45 minutes

A Zephyrhills family is celebrating life this Independence Day after the husband went into cardiac arrest on Peanut Island in Palm Beach County last week.

The backstory:

Bruce and Tiffany Brown said they went to the East Coast for a quick one-night getaway with family, spending the day at the beach on June 25.

"We started with a beautiful day. We went out, we took a little shuttle over to the little island. We snorkeled for a long time," said Tiffany Brown.

Then their beach day took a turn.

"People all around, lots of noise, you know, sound of waves, but I heard what I now know was him trying to get his last breath in," said Tiffany.

Bruce went into cardiac arrest. Strangers jumped in and turned into heroes.

"Matt, he was trained in the Navy on CPR and first aid," said Tiffany. "There's also a nurse, Jennifer, and they figured out very quickly they had to start CPR."

A nurse, a service member and a doctor worked on Bruce for 45 minutes doing chest compressions.

"The nurse looked up and said, you know I'm doing all I can, but can anybody pray?", said Lindsay Ferrell, a witness.

Ferrell, a pastor’s daughter, answered that call.

"I felt like the Lord just told me to get down there and start praying for him. So, I did. And I was hanging on to his wife. She was over there, and I was praying for him," said Ferrell.

They lost his pulse three times, but someone eventually found an AED, an automated external defibrillator, on the beach and got him going.

By then, first responders arrived to the island and rushed him to the hospital.

"They couldn't get a helicopter in. They didn't have any boats. They called the Coast Guard. They didn't have boats. Sheriffs didn't have a boat available, so, they commandeered a water taxi, and then they commandeered one of those four wheel trash things, and got a board, and that's how they moved me to the shore," said Bruce.

What they're saying:

Bruce was taken to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center.

"Two different doctors came in and told us he probably didn't have 24 hours to live, especially with the situation and his age," said Tiffany Brown.

At 71-years-old, Bruce has a history of heart problems, and he is a Type 2 diabetic. But he survived last Wednesday’s nightmare.

"It was no bright light, no heaven, but it's just kind of like a gray scale. And it was kind of there's a slippery slope, but there were steps going up. So, it's kind of like your choice now. Are you going to go back or are you going to start moving forward?" said Bruce Brown.

Those who kept him alive visited Bruce in the hospital until his release on Thursday, July 3. A week later, he’s tired, occasionally coughing and uses his hamburger pillow for comfort.

"One thing about chest compression, especially for that long, it does do some wear and tear on your ribs and your lungs and stuff like that," said Bruce.

He knows he may look a little bit beat up while he recovers from his ordeal.

"But overall, I'm just thankful to be alive, above ground, and I got a loving wife here who's taking good care of me and putting me back into shape," said Bruce.

"If I get out of doing dishes and trash for another week. More than week, okay," said Bruce Brown.

While Bruce heals, they plan to open eyes to heart health and the importance of CPR and AEDs. They plan to work more with the American Heart Association, and they credit their faith for helping Bruce to survive.

"I mean, as Christians, we feel like God ordered the steps that day. He knew exactly what was going to happen and he placed the right people there," said Tiffany Brown.