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Thinking she was having a stroke or seizure, the officers helped with the woman’s breathing and monitored her vitals until paramedics arrived.
Command officers hadn’t realized the severity of Lisa Kirby’s situation until her husband called to thank them, Port Authority spokeswoman Lenis Valens said.
It turned out she’d suffered a brain aneurism, Valens said.
“If there was one missing link, my wife wouldn’t have been here today,” Michael Kirby told the PAPD.
The couple had arrived from Indiana and were waiting for their connecting flight to Aruba when Lisa Kirby fell ill next to a Terminal C bathroom on Jan. 16, Valens said.
She was taken to University Hospital in Newark and given only a 20% chance of surviving, Valens said.
Following surgery and more than three weeks in intensive care, Kirby is “doing much better, with a great prognosis of a full recovery,” the spokeswoman said.
She’ll be released from the hospital on Saturday, in fact.
Michael Kirby asked to meet with everyone who helped save his wife on Sunday, Valentine’s Day, before they head back home.
That can be arranged, Valens said.
“We at the Port Authority couldn’t be happier for her, her husband and the rest of their family,” she said.
The heroes said they were just doing their jobs.
“It’s very rewarding knowing I contributed,” Burkhardt said. “As a police officer, I always want to help save lives. I did what any other officer would have done in my position. We all worked together to save her life.”
“This is an example of what police officers do on a daily basis at the Port Authority,” Nielsen added. “Everyone came together and did their part that morning.”
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