Katie Hermon literally saved my husband's life. If it hadn't been for her clinical skills, he would not be here this Christmas to celebrate with our 3-year-old son and me. Our family was waiting for the Santa parade in our neighborhood when my 45-year-old husband went into sudden cardiac arrest. Katie was the first responder when I yelled for someone to call 911, and needed someone who knew CPR. He was completely unresponsive, with no pulse, when Katie started chest compressions. Within several seconds of her starting CPR, he started taking breaths, and Katie continued to stay on the line with 911 until the paramedics arrived to take over. They worked on my husband for 25 minutes, shocking him four times, to get his heart fully beating and back in rhythm.
The paramedic who spoke with me in the ER after he arrived at St. Vincent asked me who did CPR on him, and then told me that we needed to thank her, because without her clinical skills and knowing what to do, he wouldn't have been alive when they got there. Katie's demeanor through the whole crisis exuded calmness and her execution of those skills in a crisis were beyond amazing.
Katie deserves this award because Nursing is *who she is at her core*; a nurse who serves others and genuinely cares to help people. She wasn't at work and getting paid when she saved my husband's life. She was a nurse helping someone in need of her clinical skills when she was off the clock in her community. How do you ever truly thank someone enough for giving you the gift of returning life to your husband (and the Daddy to your 3-year-old son who needs him)?
There will never be enough words to express the gratitude we feel to Katie and her selfless, brave and amazing act of kindness and compassion. She is truly a hero. So, whether she gets this award or not, she deserves to be recognized for such an important thing she did, and for those around her to know what an asset she is, not only to St. Vincent Hospital but to the community as well.