A little over two months ago, diners at Independence Township’s Capri Grill got more than dinner.
It was near 7:30 in the evening and Brandon Township residents Michael ‘Mick? and Terri Elliott were paying their bill at the Sashabaw Road eatery when the excitement began.
‘I must not have looked right. Mick thought I was choking,? Terri said last week about the incident of Friday, April 3.
Only she wasn’t choking, she went into a cardiac arrest. Thanks to the efforts of many people, but in particular an anonymous woman, Terri is alive today.
‘I don’t even know her name. She’s a paramedic who happened to be eating dinner with her husband and daughter. I was told later that without her acting fast I wouldn’t be here,? Terri, 52, said.
The paramedic, along with Mick, immediately started and continued CPR until emergency personnel from Independence Township Fire Department arrived. Once there, they took over for Terri’s care, using defibrillating paddles.
‘I want to say thank you to her, but I don’t know who she is,? Terri said.
Ultimately, Terri was helivacced to the University of Michigan Hospital in Ann Arbor, where she stayed until May 2 — 10 days where spent on a ventilator.
While still recuperating, she is getting out more and more these days — in May she hand-delivered a thank you card and donuts to Fire Station #1.
‘They were wonderful and thanking me . . . and I was there to thank them,? she said.
On June 23, she travels back to Ann Arbor for surgery. Doctors will implant a defibrillator inside her. According to Terri, she has a congenital heart condition known as tetralogy of fallot.
‘She’s a remarkable woman,? said Bob Cesario, the fire department’s EMS coordinator.
According to Cesario, the Independence Township EMS crew who responded that evening were: Tom Doyon, Rich Minard, Phil Williams, Ben Wherry, Tim Green, Tom TenEyck, Scott Krakauer and Tom McDonald.
Terri asks if anybody knows who the paramedic is, to please call Cesario at the fire department, 248-625-1924.