Woman on vacation screamed after hearing ‘loud snore’ from husband — strangers rushed in and saved his life

Paying attention to some signs can completely alter the course of events. A wife experienced that when she screamed for help after hearing a "loud snore" from her husband. The couple was on a snorkelling trip with family at Peanut Island. They were having a fun day at the beach when the incident happened. The man, Bruce Brown, went out to rest as he felt that his blood sugar levels might have been a little low. But then his wife, Tiffany, heard the "snore" from him, per CBS 12 News.

"We spent a wonderful morning snorkeling, enjoying all the stuff. Bruce had gone back to the chair because he thought maybe his blood sugar might be a little low. A few minutes later, I hear what sounds like a loud snore — but it was actually just his body trying to get his very last breaths," Tiffany recounted. Bruce was about to go into a full cardiac arrest and his wife had realized that something was wrong, so she ran to him while screaming for help. Many strangers on the beach jumped into action at the woman's call for help. "There was a Navy veteran and his family next to us and they immediately started CPR. An ER doctor and nurse were there too — they were doing sternum rubs, checking for a pulse. That’s when it all started."

Different strangers performed chest compressions on the man for around 45 minutes and ran to get an AED for him. The man had to be shocked 3-4 times and lost his pulse at least 3 times, according to his wife. However, getting Bruce to the hospital was not an easy feat, as there was no safe landing space for a Trauma Hawk. The Coast Guard and Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office boats were not available at that time. Emergency workers eventually managed to find a water taxi to take the man to a Riviera Beach Fire-Rescue ambulance that took him to the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. They continued performing CPR on him through all of it.
"When they finally got me to the hospital, they told me I had a 10 to 20 percent chance of living. They told my wife I wouldn’t make it 24 hours. And here I am," Bruce pointed out. Cardiologists at the hospital credited Bruce's survival to receiving timely, high-quality CPR that preserved his brain function. "Only because he had that high-quality CPR keeping his heart moving blood and oxygen through his body — but especially to his brain — is he here today and fully, fully healed," Tiffany added. The man went through two neurological exams and there were no signs of any cognitive damage because of the medical emergency.
"They said I’m just fine. So either I’ve got a really strange brain, or I’m just blessed. Probably both," Bruce remarked. The family was also thankful for a young woman who prayed for Bruce's recovery for around 30 minutes after the rescue work had started. The rescuers had told people on the beach that they were doing everything possible for the man, but they also needed prayer. "She was just praying and praying. I call her my prayer warrior." The man was able to go home after a week of treatment for pneumonia and a previously unknown COVID diagnosis. Bruce now has a defibrillator pacemaker in his chest and the family is determined to spread more awareness about learning CPR and getting AEDs at places.