A wedding day can be filled with a lot of excitement and angst — but a New Jersey couple got a type of excitement no one wants to experience.
The pastor for the Ridgewood couple was in the middle of delivering the wedding vows at the Great Falls Center in the days after Christmas, when he collapsed at the altar.
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"I said it would require patience, love, kindness and then I passed out," said Rev. Anthony Palmer.
It was more than just passing out; Palmer went into cardiac arrest.
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Thankfully for him, Valeria Franco — an EMT in West Paterson — happened to be working catering during the wedding. Her mother, Brenda, was working as well, and yelled for her daughter to come help.
"Go now, go do it, that's your thing, they’re waiting for you," she recalled telling Valeria.
Franco worked without any EMT equipment on Palmer for roughly half an hour, performing chest compressions by herself, until paramedics arrived. Palmer survived the scare, and is now recovering.
City officials said they not sure why it took so long for paramedics to get there that day, but said they looking into the matter.
On Tuesday, two weeks after the ordeal, Palmer and Franco reunited at Paterson City Hall, where she was recognized by the city for saving the pastor's life. Palmer is now a living testament to her training and skill — and saw the parallel with what happened to the Buffalo Bills' Damar Hamlin a few days later.
"But I also had a feeling, a good feeling that that they would be able to save him...based on my experience" he said.
As a five-year EMT, Franco has made CPR saves before — and even did so the following day. But off-duty, alone at first, this one stands out for her.
"Hopefully people will see this and be inspired to be an EMT or take CPR training," said Paterson Mayor Andrew Sayegh, who presented her with a certificate for her life-saving move.
The couple, meanwhile, elected to move on to the cocktail hour after Palmer was treated — but have yet to say their vows. Palmer told NBC New York he wants to finish the job, probably at their home in Ridgewood in the not too distant future.
