WASHINGTON — Sometimes we lose sight of what a great community we live in.
But then you hear an incredible story like D.C. firefighters racing to respond to a 911 call and taking just minutes to bring a jogger back to life after she collapsed on the sidewalk in cardiac arrest.
On Friday, Margaret "Bishop" Snedden got a chance to thank the firefighters who brought her back to life. She's all smiles now, a walking, talking miracle.
Three months ago, out jogging with her sister, Snedden collapsed on the sidewalk near 14th and Rhode Island NW. Firefighters found her in cardiac arrest, without any pulse. Her sister, her boyfriend and her father were all in a panic.
"CPR was started, a shock was given, medication was administered," said DC Fire EMS Chief John Donnelly.
Within three minutes, firefighters restored Snedden's heartbeat. Rushed to George Washington University Hospital, doctors diagnosed her with a previously undetected congenital heart defect. The birth defect, Snedden said, usually kills infants in their first year, but she somehow survived until it struck her down at the age of 27, when she was just getting warmed up for a jog.
She collapsed the day after Thanksgiving 2022. But on Feb.17, 2023, she was able to walk into the Engine Company 16 firehouse and thank the men and women who saved her, offering hugs and handshakes all around.
"I just want to say I'm so grateful to the team here," Snedden said, her voice breaking. "I literally owe them my life ... I would not be here without them."
She handed each of her rescuers a "cardiac care save coin," an honor presented by Fire and EMS when a patient they found in cardiac arrest is able to walk out of the hospital. Lt. Peter Elliott, Firefighter Technician Jeffrey Scire, Firefighter Paramedic Spiro Dimakas, Firefighter EMT Kenneth Bryant, Lt. Paramedic Ryan Bolton, Firefighter EMT Clarence Zieglar, Firefighter EMT Marta Amaya, EMS Battalion Chief Nicole Liriano-Norris, Sgt. Paramedic Daniel Lottes, and EMS Cpt. Derek McMahan were all honored.
Snedden's dad is a longtime supporter of the DC Firefighter's Burn Foundation.
"We thought we were going to lose her, so to be here celebrating is wonderful, wonderful," John Snedden said, clearly emotional.
Donnelly said this kind of event is a huge morale boost for firefighters.
"They won't admit it," the chief said. "They'll just say they're doing their jobs. But as soon as we leave here today, they'll say, 'I just met someone I saved.'"
And in Donnelly's book, there's no better feeling.