Racine County woman in cardiac arrest saved by heroic co-worker, paramedics

 

RACINE COUNTY, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Racine County woman says she wouldn't be alive today without the quick thinking of a co-worker.

Jenni and Eric Sego sat down hand-in-hand with CBS 58 to recall one of the scariest moments of their lives.

Jenni has two holes in her heart and a pacemaker. Two weeks ago, as she was driving into work at S.C. Johnson & Son, she went into cardiac arrest.

"The last thing I remember is getting out of my car, checking my temperature and getting back into my car," Jenni said. 

Jenni became unconscious and drove her car into a pole. This captured the attention of a nearby co-worker named Santos. Knowing Jenni's condition, he started performing CPR and grabbed a defibrillator to save her life.

That's when paramedics arrived -- but Jenni wasn't out of the woods yet. On the way to Aurora Medical Center, something happened.

"She actually had another episode in the ambulance where they had to do more CPR on her on the way up," said her husband, Eric Sego.

Jenni was then taken to Froedtert Hospital for treatment. Now, she is recovering, wearing a LifeVest device to monitor her heart rate for the next month. Jenni says she will be forever grateful for the co-worker that saved her.

"I can't even begin to thank him enough. You don't think this is going to happen, and I come across as this big, tough girl because that's how I was raised. I don’t like people to fret over me or take care of me, but had Santos not known about my situation from Maria and known what to do, I don’t think I could be here today."

After collecting data from her LifeVest device for a month, doctors will decide if Jenni needs a new pacemaker. Jenni and Eric encourage everyone to take a course in CPR if they're able, as it could save someone's life.

SC Johnson released the following statement: 

“We can confirm that an employee had a health complication while on our campus and that Santos Paredes, Assistant Chief, SC Johnson Waxdale Emergency Response Brigade, had come to their assistance. The health and safety of SC Johnson people is a top priority and we are grateful to Santos for his role in upholding those values. We will continue to monitor the situation and hope for a quick recovery for our affected employee.”