‘I am alive because of them’: North Port Walmart employees save customer’s life
NORTH PORT, Fla. (WFLA) — Mary DiSanzo celebrated her 79th birthday last week. She is incredibly grateful to have another year after a close call earlier this month.
DiSanzo was shopping at the Walmart on Tamiami Trail in North Port when she started to feel dizzy.
“All I remember is a lady coming up to me saying ‘are you OK?’,” recalled DiSanzo.
Next thing she remembers is waking up in the hospital. She had experienced a cardiac arrest while in the store, which caused her to collapse.
Fortunately, store employees Suzan Martucci and Tanya Frener knew what to do and immediately jumped into action. The employees were recognized last week on what happened to be DiSanzo’s 79th birthday.
“The Walmart employee immediately began CPR while another one grabbed their AED or their automatic external defibrillator and another employee called 911,” said North Port EMS Division Chief Brian Gorski.
“We commend the heroic actions of three of our associates at our North Port Walmart store, who recently demonstrated remarkable courage and quick thinking in assisting Ms. Disanzo during a medical emergency. Their swift response undoubtedly played a crucial role in saving a life. We are proud of their bravery and commitment to serving our community,” said Walmart Global Communications Director Alicia Anger in a statement emailed to 8 On Your Side.
Chief Gorski said that series of events helped lead to a successful outcome for Mary. He said she may not have survived if it weren’t for the life-saving actions of the store employees.
“We can’t effectively do our job, unless all those links are connected in the chain and in this case, every link was connected. So you had somebody that recognized it, immediately acted, deployed their AED, rapid response by us, and then starting advanced life support and transporting her to a facility that is capable of catheterization,” said Chief Gorski.
DiSanzo regained a pulse within a minute of EMS arriving on scene, and was speaking within about five minutes time.
She said she is forever grateful to all involved in saving her life.
“These people knew exactly what to do and they saved someone’s life and that is a miracle, that my life was saved. There would be no life, I wouldn’t be here having this conversation, so they came to my rescue, two people and I am alive because of them,” said DiSanzo.
Chief Gorski said the incident highlights the importance of community CPR.
“I was told was if they waited, I would have brain damage, so I was lucky they acted immediately. It is always nice to be kind anyways, so if you see anybody who needs help in anyway, that is what to do, is just forget about yourself and think about the person and help them because I wouldn’t be here… I would not be alive if nobody had helped me,” said DiSanzo.
In a news release, North Port Fire Rescue said the city boasts resuscitation success rates nearly double the national average.
“Fire Rescue officials credit their highly skilled and trained personnel, North Port residents and businesses for their willingness to learn CPR and make AEDs available, improving our community’s overall safety and life-saving abilities,” said the news release.
Residents or community groups can sign up for hands-only CPR training by calling North Port Fire Rescue at 941-240-8150.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.
