Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Melinda Thompson, a nurse who works on 4-C at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center, was at the State Fair with her family, when she saved a man who had a massive heart attack.

Melinda Thompson went to the State Fair as an extra birthday present for her 3-year-old daughter’s birthday, but rainstorms almost made her turn around and go home more than once.

“But we already spent about $70 for the family (to get in and for ride tickets), and they wouldn’t refund my money,” she said.
And moments later, she saved a life.

She said it was God’s work, putting her at the right place at the right time.

Thompson, a Milwaukee VA Medical Center nurse who works on 4-C, jumped into action Aug. 10 when a man at the fair collapsed with a massive heart attack. Although he had no pulse, she and another nurse saved his life and he was rushed by ambulance to nearby Froedtert Medical Center, where officials said Thompson’s quick work saved his life. The man was treated and released.

“The whole day, wanting to leave because of the rain, not getting our money back, it’s all because I was supposed to be there at that time,” Thompson said. “I’m not a holier-than-thou person, I’m not perfect. But I’m trying to be obedient to God, and I was there because I was supposed to be there.”

Thompson, a registered nurse for 10 years, has worked at Milwaukee VA since 2008. She went to the fair with her daughter’s: Meliyah, 8; Lailah, 3; and Lailah’s father, Will.
Each time it poured, they ran into different buildings, leading them closer to the scene where a crowd of people were gathering. They came back outside as the rain stopped and Will pointed to the commotion.

“He saw it first and said, ‘You need to go over and help those people.’ At first, I said, ‘I don’t need to go over there,’ just to argue with him. Then I took a second to see what was going on.”

She found several people standing around a man in his late 60s who was having trouble breathing.

“He was sweating and beading and had a really bad color. He was gasping for breath and started foaming at the mouth, and then everything just transformed in a couple of seconds and I don’t know what happened,” she said.

What happened, according to onlookers, is Thompson took control. She yelled at one person to call 911, then got a security guard and police officer to join her in CPR, switching out every two minutes to keep a steady rhythm.

“If we didn’t get him down on the ground, I knew it wouldn’t end well. I start asking questions about what he ate or if he had allergies, and when I saw he didn’t have a pulse, started doing compressions as hard as I could,” she said.

Christi Engelberg, a rapid response flight nurse visiting from Las Vegas, Nevada, also ran over to help. Engelberg, who has asthma, had two epinephrine pens for herself in case of an emergency. That’s also the first line of medication for someone having a heart attack.

“I carry those with me all the time, and I saw this guy was in a lot of trouble,” said Engelberg. “He looked bad – no color, no pulse. There wasn’t time so I gave them to him one after another right through his jeans. That got his pulse back, but we lost him again, then got him back.”

Thompson added: “He came back. He gasped, and I just said, ‘Thank you, God. Thank you, Jesus.’”

She kept barking orders and keeping time, using skills from Advanced Cardiac Life Support training at the VA.

“Melinda really took charge,” Engelberg said. “She did everything perfectly. It was almost like someone was videotaping this for teaching purposes. She was that perfect. I want to recruit her to come to Vegas and join my rapid response team.”

The compliment makes Thompson catch her breath.

“Wow,” she said. “In ACLS class, I didn’t think I was the best student. But when I needed to do it, I was able to do it.”
Her instructor, Mary Kay O’Brien, also a Milwaukee VA nurse, said that’s no surprise.

“The whole idea of ACLS training is to put nurses in a stressful situation and make them comfortable so it becomes automatic when they need to do it for real,” said O’Brien. “I’ve seen Melinda in a real crisis or rapid response so I know she has the skills. It makes me proud because I know we have many good nurses here who don’t always get credit for doing amazing work. I’d stack our nurses here up against anyone, anywhere.”

But Thompson and Engleberg both believe it was something a little more than great nursing skills.

“I’m glad my daughters were there so they could see and understand what I do for a living. And I’m glad I was there and God put me there even when I wanted to go home,” Thompson said. “I just believe God put me where I needed to be.”

Said Engleberg: “I say a prayer each time I intubate someone. That day was no different. Absolutely God was there with us.”