Hello and welcome to living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host.

Brittany Sweeney, A Lehigh County woman, is taking time to thank the first responders in her community who helped save her life.

The team sprang into action with life saving techniques and now they've all been reunited.

Give me huggies?

Good hugs!

37 year old Katie Young's life changed in an instant a year ago, on a normal day at home in Catasaqua with her family.

We sat down to watch TV and he said, I looked at him and said, I felt lightheaded.

And just like that, I lost consciousness.

The last thing the mom of two recalls about that day is putting her six month old son and three year old daughter down for a nap before having some time to relax with her husband, Adam.

She slowly turned her head at me and said, I feel lightheaded.

And in a split second, she freezed up on her eyes rolled in the back of her head.

Her mouth closed shut.

I couldn't open up her mouth.

Her entire body went blank on me.

He actually thought I was going into a seizure, and I was actually having a cardiac arrest.

Right.

Right while I was on the phone with 9-1-1 my wife went limp, pale, and stopped breathing.

So I picked her up I laid her on the ground and I started giving CPR.

Paramedic Mark Lehman of Northampton Regional EMS responded to the call following the Catasaqua fire department.

When we arrived on scene, Katie was on the floor.

One of the firemen was performing CPR on her.

I wish the survival rates were higher, but with the fact that people do start CPR earlier, it does increase that possibility.

Quick action from both her husband and first responders saved the mother's life on March 24th, 2023.

So Katie came in about a year ago with a very lethal arrhythmia from the ventricles.

Cardiac arrest related to some abnormal heart rhythms.

And she was having it kept on going into incessant cardiac arrest.

Dr. Sergio Cossu is a cardiologist with Lehigh Valley Health Network and part of the team who treated young.

The chances of surviving an out of hospital cardiac arrest are dismal.

Less than 5 to 10%.

So the fact that Katie is still with us today speaks volumes.

The physician says the cause of the condition is unknown.

Young had no underlying conditions or family history of heart disease.

I've always been healthy.

I'm very active.

I work out.

I've never really even been to the doctor for literally anything.

So for this to happen was a shock to all of us because it just absolutely came out of nowhere.

Young underwent months of recovery.

Slow, painful.

I lost a lot of my muscle mass from laying in the hospital.

I was in a coma for for like a week or so.

Though her voice has not fully recovered from the trauma, she recently took the time to say thank you to Northampton Regional EMS.

Catasaqua Police and Fire and the care team at Lehigh Valley Heart and Vascular Institute, who she says gave her a second chance.

It's emotional.

I'm glad these people do what they do for a living, you know, and I shouldn't be here right now.

And I am I have.

My best friend because of everyone here.

Everyone here.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Grateful and blessed, glasses.

Almost like an understatement.

It's almost sounds cliche to say, but there's a reason.

There's a reason why I'm here.

And if that's to, you know, promote what the signs and symptoms are.

Go to the doctor, get checked, or, you know, just to get CPR certified.

Young says her symptoms leading up to the episode included shortness of breath, lightheadedness and dizziness.

Those are all signs that could be potentially signs for abnormal heart rhythms.

It's amazing that I'm able to stand here with my wife and my kids.

It's amazing that my wife is still here to see her kids grow up, but also see everyone that put their all in to keep her alive and to keep her healthy and breathing.

A Survivor.

Katie credits her husband's knowledge of CPR with helping her stay alive while waiting for EMS.

She now has a cardioverter defibrillator to avoid a similar situation, but she's back to living a normal life with her family.

Where's Mama's Boo Boo?

She even has a scar to prove it.

But her daughter likes to point out every now and again.

Is it all better?

Even now, she'll look at me and she'll see the scar.

And she like, that's Mommy's boo boo.

But it's all better.

So she she knew something wasn't right, But we kept reassuring her that, like, it's going to be okay.

Okay, bye bye!

Special heart statues were handed out to all of the first responders and health care workers involved in Young's recovery.

She is expected to live a normal, healthy life.

That will do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney, hoping you stay happy and healthy.