Amy Smythe was running a half marathon in Key West earlier this month when, right after she crossed the finish line, she saw a man in front of her collapse.
Smythe, a cardiovascular nurse at Christiana Hospital in Delaware, knew the man needed help and immediately rushed to his assistance. She administered CPR, saving the man's life, but never knew what happened to him after that.
“I was just saying that morning that I think I’m better off not knowing what happened to him because it kept eating at me,” Smythe said. “Did we do enough for him?” She wasn't sure he had lived.
But Smythe did do enough, because the man, Bill Amirault of Colorado, recovered and was searching for her through social media from his hospital bed in Florida. It wasn’t until Smythe’s friends showed her a video of Amirault that she was able to get in contact with him.
Amirault initially posted the video of himself asking to find the people who saved him and asked his friends and family to share the post, wich eventually made its way to the Delaware nurse.
“I immediately burst into tears just to see how well he looked,” Smythe said.
As for Amirault, he says now he is going to learn CPR.
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“We’ve thanked them from the bottom of our hearts,” Amirault said. “They don’t want the recognition, they were just doing what they normally do.”
Amirault, Smythe, and the others who helped save the runner's life are all hoping to meet in Key West next January so they can all walk the half marathon together.
