Nurse Hailed as Hero

Two men who fell 50 feet down a cliff in Ocean Beach are alive and recovering, thanks to the quick action of an ICU nurse.

Renee Gaudette was out for a hike on the beach with her boyfriend on Sunday when she noticed something that didn't look right: two guys sitting on the cliffs in a dangerous spot.
 
"I looked up and I saw the two men fall, and it was kind of in slow motion," Gaudette said. "I heard the people scream, and that's when it hit me. And then I ran as fast as I could over there, and I just remember thinking I could not get over there fast enough because time was just like slowed down."

Gaudette immediately went to the man with the most serious injuries.
 
"When I saw him on the ground, he wasn't breathing," Gaudette recalled. "He was blue. He didn't have a pulse, so I just started CPR as hard as I could, because I know that's what's going to save him."

"She took charge right away," witness Travis Thursby said afterward. "She gave him CPR."

Next, Gaudette helped clear the man’s airway and guided others in treating the second man while making sure someone called 911 for help.

"She is the hero of the day and certainly saved his life," another witness, Chris Werdenberg, said.
 
"It was just a great feeling when they got him airlifted off the ground," Gaudette said.

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