Good Samaritan uses CPR to save woman's life outside Brockton Market Basket
BROCKTON - The action of a quick-thinking grocery shopper proved to be lifesaving when a woman started seizing in a supermarket parking lot.
"Honestly, if somebody didn't help me, I probably would've died," Sydney Kilroy told WBZ-TV.
She's lucky to be alive thanks to a Good Samaritan who jumped into action at a Brockton Market Basket. Kilroy was grocery shopping with her mother and sister Tuesday night when she began feeling unwell. She started seizing in the car before her family could park.
"She was foaming by the mouth," said Denise Tomkiewicz, a bystander. "She was very pale and blue."
While others panicked, Tomkiewicz was calm and knew just what to do.
"We ended up dragging her out of the car and placing her on the floor," she said. "She didn't have a pulse, so that's when I felt like it was safe enough to start CPR on her."
Her training at Bridgewater State Hospital kicked in and with every chest compression, Kilroy started breathing again.
"Next thing I remember, I woke up in an ambulance," Kilroy explained.
She was dazed, confused, but relieved to be alive thanks to a stranger and her lifesaving skills.
"I am so beyond grateful for this woman," said Kilroy. "If it wasn't for her, I really don't think I would be here."
It was Tomkiewicz's first time giving CPR and it proved to be invaluable.
"It can save someone's life. A family member or anyone like that. Or a stranger too," Tomkiewicz said.
It was a simple technique that now allows Kilroy to spend more time with her two kids.
"I find myself completely lucky. If it wasn't her, I don't think it would've been anybody," said Kilroy.