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Pablo Campoverde, 24, of Cuenca, Ecuador, arrived in Stamford on Aug. 20, to visit with an uncle on Horton Street.
But around 1:40 a.m. Aug. 21, Campoverde, who doesn't have medical issues or drink or do drugs, stopped breathing, according to Stamford Police.
Family members frantically called 911 and in under a minute, Stamford Police officer Michael Costello, a 23-year department veteran, arrived and began administering chest compressions to Campoverde.
After approximately two minutes EMS and the fire department arrived and took over resuscitation efforts, said Stamford Police Capt. Diedrich Hohn.
After several minutes, a pulse was restored and Campoverde was transported to Stamford Hospital Emergency Department where he ultimately survived.
Following the incident, family members told police that Campoverde went to bed at 10:30 p.m. and at 1:30 a.m., they heard him having labored breathing and called 911. There also did not appear to be any signs of foul play, Hohn said.
Officer Adriana Molina, who acts as the department's Spanish liaison to the Latin community, followed up with the family a week later.
"We discovered that Pablo will make a full recovery with no permanent brain or heart damage," Hohn said. "It appears that Mr. Campoverde suffered some sort of medical incident."
While speaking to EMS and hospital staff, they have all relayed that Costello’s efforts in initiating CPR, was a major turning point in saving his life, Hohn said.
EMS officials said they were able to restore Campoverde"s heart function, solely due to Costello’s quick arrival time and immediate CPR performance.
On Wednesday, the young man got to thank Costello during a meeting and press conference in Stamford.
Costello said he was just doing his job, but Campoverde and his family would disagree.
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