Tulsa Couple Reunites With Life-Saving Crew

One year ago a Tulsa couple experienced one of the scariest days they've ever had; and while that day could have had a deadly outcome, from now on, it's a day to celebrate.

On the one year anniversary, the couple got a special meeting with a lifesaving voice on the end of the line when they called for help.

The EMSA ambulance and crew arrived Monday afternoon at Bill and Donna Freymuth's home under totally different circumstances than they did one year ago.

"I was in the living room, and Bill was in the kitchen, and I heard a thump," Donna recalled.

Bill fell to the floor with a massive heart attack. Donna, then, called 911.

"My husband, he just passed out and he has heart trouble," she said over the phone one year ago.

Monday, Donna said, "When I saw him on the floor, I thought that was it."

She thought she would lose her husband of 41 years, a father of two and grandfather of five.

She had never had CPR training, but EMSA 911 dispatcher Matthew Rook, coached her through it.

"Stay on the line with me. You need to listen to me very carefully and do exactly as I say," he told her.

Rook explained how to do chest compressions and even counted the rhythm that would save her 68-year-old husband's life.

Bill's heart stopped at least twice, but his wife never gave up.

"I just kept doing what I was told to do. He just kept saying keep doing, keep doing," Donna said.

Bill said, "Every day is a celebration now."

Part of the celebration is what brought the crew back to their home on the one year anniversary of Bill's heart attack.

Bill: “She's been looking forward to this moment for a year.”
Donna: “I want to be able to thank him."

Finally that moment came, and the tears told the gratefulness, as powerfully as words ever could.

And there were hugs, not just for Matthew, but to go around for the paramedics who responded that day.

"It's a pretty special feeling because, like I said, you're usually stuck behind the phone not knowing what happened," Rook said.

What happened was, together, they saved Bill's life; meaning more years with his children, grandchildren and the woman he gave his heart to so many years ago.

"Ma'am you did an awesome job, okay. I'm going to talk to the paramedics. You did great," Rook told Donna one year ago.

Donna said, "I pray every day, and I thank God that I still have him."

Alek Carson and Patrick Mahjoub were the paramedics who responded to the Freymuth's house.

The Freymuth's said they were already a hugging family, but they're even more of one now, and they hold on a little longer and a little tighter.