Going through any medical emergency can be scary.
Having one while walking on a treadmill is downright terrifying.
So when Thuong Nguyen was in the middle of walking on one of the treadmills at LifeTime Fitness in Eagen, Minn., being unwell was the furthest thing from her mind.
But things can change in an instant. “She was walking on the treadmill and all of a sudden, she collapsed,” said Van Truong, Nguyen’s daughter.
But, in a twist only fate can give, the person beside her on another treadmill, was a doctor.
The man, who requested to be anonymous, immediately began CPR on Nguyen, with help from staff members Colter Porter and Cori Benson, who brought over a defibrillator.
Thuong Nguyen, center, talks about her recent medical emergency that she suffered while at gym. Photo courtesy of WCCO/CBS
“All that was going through my mind was we need to save this woman,” said Benson, who helped operate the defibrillator.
And they did.
It’s a good feeling to help save someone,” Porter said.
Nguyen was rushed to the hospital, her family said, where doctors discovered that she had a genetic heart condition. After being treated, she is now at home recovering.
“She’s just looking forward to being able to get her strength back to cook again, to hold her grandbabies,” said Kimberly Caron, Nguyen’s daughter.
The family was able to get in touch with the surgeon who saved their mom.
They made sure to learn who the Good Samaritan surgeon was too.
“He doesn’t necessarily want his name shared publicly, but he’s willing to stop by and check up on her,” Nguyen’s daughter Van Truong said. “He wants to stop by and meet us.”
The surgeon did speak out to say how lucky the situation was.
A gym member collapsed at LifeTime Fitness, and thanks to a doctor that happened to be there, as well as a defibrillator, she was saved. Photo by WCCO/CBS
“I feel very blessed that something that could’ve turned out much more poorly has turned out the way it has, so I’m very grateful I was there,” he said.
The surgeon also said that people should make themselves aware of where AED defibrillators are located. He said they are simple to use, and can be the difference between life or death.
Truong said that it was a blessing that the person on the treadmill next to her mother happened to be a doctor.
“Somehow an angel or somebody asked this doctor to wake up that day and was like, ‘You’re going to be at LifeTime, and you’re going to stand next to my mom and work out and she’s going to collapse and you’re going to save her,'” Truong said.
“It’s definitely a miracle, that’s for sure.”
Watch below as gym staff talk about the day they helped save Nguyen.
