Six Minnesota Nurses Save a Woman's Life While on a Cruise

Some say that wherever you are at any given moment, is where you are meant to be. That certainly seems to be the case with these six nurses from Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital in St Louis Park.

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Jenni, Cindy, Joni, Sandy, Ann and Jane were all heading out on a week long Caribbean cruise, according to fox9.com, and I imagine the last thing they expected was that they would end up saving a woman's life, but that's exactly what happened.

The first day of the cruise the six nurses spent the day celebrating Ann Montanez's birthday. The next day, the 6 were in the dining room and during their meal noticed an elderly woman choking.

"At this point, I was like, ‘Oh, this is really happening on this cruise,’ and I kind of motion for my friend to like turn around and said, ‘I think this person is starting to choke,’" Montanez said. "Her lips were blue. She was very gray. She was not responding at all. I mean, there were quite a few moments where I thought please let her make it," said fellow ER nurse, Jenni Lange.

After watching a dining room waiter attempting the Heimlich maneuver and having no success, these nurses without a second thought sprang into action doing what they do best. "So we got her on her side, and I took the heel of my hand and I wailed on this poor little lady," said Sandy Orinstien.

"Then, Sandy gave her one more good blow. And then all of a sudden, she was moving a little bit, and then I was able to get the food out and then she took a bunch of deep breaths." added Cindy Johannes, which drew a round of applause from the everyone in the dining room.

It all kind of sunk in after the ship's medical crew arrived on the scene. "The doctor, he's like, ‘What happened?’ (We) showed him the piece of meat, and he looked at the lady and he goes, ‘these ladies just saved your life,’" Orinstien said.

A memorable vacation for sure. The nurses stressed how important it is for everyone to know CPR, Heimlich maneuver and basic first aid. Every second counts!

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