CANDIA, NH — A New Hampshire man is alive right now thanks to a Dunkin' Donuts worker who knew exactly what to do.
Surveillance video captures the moment David Wood, 29, collapsed in front of his truck at a Candia rest stop after suffering a heart attack Wednesday morning.
Another trucker called 911 and a drive thru customer alerted Dunkin' Donuts employees. That's when April Merchant, 24, ran outside and started CPR.
Felicia Bertram is David's mother. She flew up from Tennessee to be by her son's side. When she arrived he was on life support. "I'm forever in her debt," Bertam told WMUR. "Even the doctors said, if she had not done that, he would not be with us,"
Merchant says she's just one of many people who came together to help Wood. She was overcome with joy when she finally heard someone yell that he had a pulse. "I cried for like an hour. I cried for a while after," said Merchant.
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Merchant says she had to take a mandatory CPR class back in college. Luckily, that training kicked right in when the time came. "I don't know what I would have done if I didn't take a CPR class," said Merchant.
Wood was down on the ground for 8 minutes before anyone saw him. Doctors told his mother the snow also helped to save him from a brain injury. Two days later, he's alert and walking again.
Bertram says there is a history of cardiac issues in the family, but they're still not sure why this happened. One thing they are sure of is that Merchant is their hero. "I don't know about all that," said Merchant. "It makes me anxious when people call me a hero, because I just don't feel like I am."
"She gave us our family. I mean, he has three beautiful children, a beautiful wife and I don't know what I would have done if I lost my son," said Bertram.