While home recovering from COVID-19, she saved her husband's life

One day last July, Mike Button settled into his home office, 准备好开始处理他最近长线上电子游戏飞禽走兽不工作积累下来的积压的事情.

In April, his mom had died following a prolonged illness. Around the same time, 他被诊断出患有充血性心力衰竭，并开始服用药物来增强心脏功能. 他最近刚从他母亲在底特律的追悼会回来. 然后，一场COVID-19爆发了，在康复期间，他的一只狗死在了他面前.

回到佛罗里达州棕榈滩花园家中的办公桌前，他感到有点累. Everything else seemed normal.

His wife, Stephanie, was recovering from her own case of COVID-19. She was healthy enough to return to her office, 但应一位有新生儿的同事的要求，她又在家里待了几天.

那天下午，斯蒂芬妮走进迈克的办公室问他一个问题.

He looked up and said, "I feel dizzy."

然后他看到了一条蓝色的静态线，就像旧电视关闭时看到的那样.

The next instant, he slumped over in his chair.

"Mike! Mike!" Stephanie yelled, shaking him.

He wasn't moving or breathing. He was in cardiac arrest.

Stephanie called 911.

"Do you know CPR?" the dispatcher asked.

She'd been trained several times. But in her panic, she couldn't remember a thing.

"No," she said.

斯蒂芬妮打开免提，调度员给她讲解.

First, she had to get Mike on the ground. She grabbed his office chair by one of the arms, pulling it over sideways until he tumbled to the floor.

Next, she was told to give her husband chest compressions until help arrived. They were there in just under five minutes.

The EMTs connected Mike to an automated external defibrillator, or AED. The portable device can help restart a heart that's stopped beating. After each of the first two shocks, 迈克接受了一个机械心肺复苏术装置的心肺复苏术，该装置旨在提供持续的胸部按压. The third shock from the AED triggered a sustainable rhythm.

Mike spent two days in a medically induced coma, a gentle environment that allowed his brain and body to heal. Stephanie was by his side, working on her laptop and talking to him. 

When she arrived on the third day, he was already awake. A breathing tube was removed. Mike looked at her said, "What happened to me? Why am I here?"

The coherent thoughts were a huge relief to Stephanie. 这表明他的大脑并没有因为长线上电子游戏飞禽走兽缺氧而受损.

Cardiac arrest is a glitch in the heart's electrical system. Doctors were never able to trace why it happened to Mike. 然而，他们说这可能与他最近被诊断出的充血性心力衰竭有关.

心脏骤停后，迈克接受了心脏再同步化治疗. 一个半美元大小的起搏器被植入他的胸腔，并与他的心脏相连. Should his heart rhythm get out of whack, the device can correct it – thus the term "resynchronization."

Two weeks later, Mike was back at work. 他又花了一个月的线上电子游戏飞禽走兽从经历的一切中恢复过来.

"The pain is simply a reminder that you're not dead yet," Mike said. "It was well worth it."

在康复期间，迈克对自己的生命幸免于难感到无比感激和敬畏.

"I'd start thinking about it and get emotional," he said. “很难想象，如果我没有在孙子身边看着他长大的话."

斯蒂芬妮称心脏骤停“绝对是我生命中最糟糕的一天，也是我生命中最美好的一天。."

"It clearly was not his time," she said. “当事情发生的时候，我站在他面前，这真是一个奇迹."

Mike calls Stephanie his hero.

"Of course, the paramedics are also my heroes, 但如果没有斯蒂芬妮的快速行动，他们就不会有太多的工作," he said.

In October, 这对夫妇在棕榈滩花园市举行的颁奖和感谢仪式上见到了迈克的其他救命恩人.

“他们有护理人员、消防员、护士和医生，他们都得到了奖励，”斯蒂芬妮说. "It was amazing for Mike and me to be able to thank them in person."

Stephanie also received a "Citizen Life Saving Award" from the city.

She and Mike now spread the word about CPR, 包括参加由斯蒂芬妮在教堂的妇女小组组织的进修课程.

“我告诉每个人，心肺复苏术是你能知道的最重要的事情，”迈克说.

Stories From the Heart 记录心脏病和中风幸存者、护理人员和倡导者的鼓舞人心的旅程.

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