Summer Haskins took her son to prom, went home and then waited for her husband to return with dinner.
Her husband, Kris Haskins, called 911 at 6:30 that night.
“I walked inside the house, put the food down and she collapsed,” he told the operator.
With each passing minute, Summer Haskins' chance for survival decreased 10%.
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“I thought it sounded like she was breathing, but it was her body trying to breathe,” Kris Haskins said.
He then gave her CPR. He knew what to do since he’s been serving in the Navy for 24 years.
Women like Summer Haskins are less likely to get CPR in public because people don't really know the best way to maneuver around a woman's chest. If the woman is wearing a bra, take that off to bare her chest before starting compressions.
Local
San Diego Fire engine 21 happened to be right around the corner.
The operator was Juliana Rubio.
“I've been a dispatcher for 36 years,” Rubio said. “There's very few calls I remember, but for some reason, I remember this call.”
There’s some keys things for everyone to remember during a crisis.
“It's not your emergency,” Rubio said. “Try and help. You are so much more effective when you’re calm.”
Summer Haskins spent 10 days in the hospital treating a rare genetic electrical heart condition called Long QT syndrome that she didn’t know she had.
Almost two years later, she got to meet Rubio.
“I apologized at first because apparently when they shocked me back on my front porch, I was fighting them," Summer Haskins remembered. "I was taking swings, but apparently, they said that’s a good thing. They like that because that means that I have a pulse and I'm breathing.”
Summer Haskins and Rubio want other people to learn from this and learn CPR.
“Just don't be afraid to be a hero,” Rubio said. “I know it sounds cliche, but not all heroes wear capes."
Rubio is reminding others about the Good Samaritan law that protects bystanders who step in to help. San Diego Project Heartbeat offers free hands only CPR training for the public.
