Survivors, FDNY First Responders Reunite During Special Ceremony
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- People rescued by FDNY first responders have been reunited with those who saved them.
Eleven people whose lives were saved by FDNY paramedics last year attended the 21st Annual Second Chance Ceremony at the FDNY Training Academy on Randall's Island Wednesday.
Sherri Johnson Campbell, 44, an FDNY dispatcher and mother of three, collapsed on the job last August and her colleagues jumped into action.
Survivors Reunited With FDNY First Responders Who Saved Them
"My co-workers just stepped in immediately," she said. "Just to know that they're inside with me and they have that much training to be able to save my life that means the world to me."
Campbell gave a big bear hug to Capt. Rudy Medina and the others whose training kicked in to save her life.
"All of us put her down on the floor, immediately started doing CPR," Medina recalled.
Brittany Williams, 21, of Florida was at a Midtown Manhattan bar last December when she went into cardiac arrest.
"Luckily, these two guys came running to my rescue and they performed CPR and saved my life," Williams said of Dr. Nicholas Farber and Brandon Johnson who were dining a few tables away.
"She is absolutely full of life and radiant and a really great person, we're really happy to meet her," Farber said.
FDNY paramedics restored Williams' heartbeat.
"They're amazing, these are my saviors, these are my rescuers, so I gotta love them," Williams said.
As CBS2's Dave Carlin reported, Laura Murphy was wiping away tears and got choked up as she met the men and women who pulled her back from death after she had a heart attack in her Queens home.
Gabriel Hernandez was also emotional when he said thanks to paramedics who got him breathing again after he collapsed crossing the street in the Bronx.
All 11 left with their plaques and group photos from the ceremony, but more importantly with their health and new friends for life.
