STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. – Karl DeLeeuw still marvels at everything that has gone on since he called Sterling Heights 911 in August.
“I truly believe she is a depiction of a miracle,” he said, speaking about his wife, Michele.
“I don’t think I’ve really processed everything that had happened in the last four months,” Michele said.
Michele was having a heart attack and was unconscious and barely breathing. Her husband called 911, believing she had died.
The 911 operator coached him through CPR. He got his wife out of her chair, laid her flat on the floor and started compressions, with the 911 operator helping him count until paramedics arrived and took over.
Paramedics revived her multiple times on the way to the hospital. Michele was unconscious for three weeks. Doctors advised taking her off life support.
Her husband allowed them to take her off life support, and days later, Michele regained consciousness.
She is now making a full recovery, even though doctors believed she only had five percent brain capacity.
Michele was presented with a Survivor Coin by the Sterling Heights Fire Department. It's a token of the bond she shares with her rescuers and her husband.
“I just thank God I was saved,” Michele said. “I know it means something good is going to come of this.”