Ellen Davis, a 69-year-old Zillah grandmother and substitute schoolteacher, collapsed about 6 a.m in West Valley Walmart on Nov. 27, the busy shopping day known as Black Friday.
Almost immediately she was surrounded by help.
Off-duty nurses and firefighters who were shopping, a police officer working store security and Walmart employees all pitched in.
Some of them performed CPR.
They kept Davis alive until the ambulance arrived nine minutes later.
Her heart was revived with an electric shock en route to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital.
One worker ran to fetch a first aid kit while other workers formed a human chain to give the rescue workers room to move.
Stephanie Pruett, a Walmart employee who performed the first chest compressions on Davis.
Some of the rescuers include :
Sgt. Mike Henne of the Yakima Police Department, who was working as private security for Walmart and performed CPR.
Tara Prescott, an off-duty Memorial Hospital registered nurse who performed CPR.
Ed Vertrees, an off-duty Yakima Training Center firefighter who performed CPR.
Sara Wisner, an off-duty registered nurse, who helped keep Davis’ airway open during CPR and helped ambulance workers keep a tight seal on a respirator bag.
As far as she can tell, Davis has fully recovered from the incident, though she has a stent in her heart and her family teases her about brain damage.
“I am just about normal as far as that goes, but that’s not saying a lot,” she said with a laugh.
She appreciated all her rescuers’ efforts, but they didn’t surprise her.
“A lot of people, more than you realize, are willing to help people in any way they can,” Davis said.
