TOLEDO, Ohio — A Toledo man is lucky to be alive after suffering from a medical emergency in a Kroger parking lot.
July 9 started as a normal shift for Tracy Lett, the assistant front end department leader at the Point Place Kroger.
"I had a customer come in and come up to this desk and say a customer had fainted out in the parking lot and asked me to call 911," Lett said.
After calling 911, Lett decided to check on the customer herself, hoping a little water would help the person who fainted.
When she made it to the parking lot though, she saw something far more serious: John Glanville Jr. was on the pavement, without a pulse and turning blue.
"No one's going to die on my shift so I started chest compressions right away, two to three minutes until (Toledo) Fire and Rescue arrived," she said.
Her quick thinking saved John's life.
"The whole world changed right then and there. I thought I was going to be a widow, honestly," said Michelle Glanville, John's wife.
Michelle said she was first notified of the situation when she received a phone call from the hospital.
"The person said, 'are you the contact for John Glanville?' I said, 'yes, I'm his wife.' They said, 'do you know what's going on with your husband?'" she said.
Doctors said a 95% blockage in her husband's heart pushed him into cardiac arrest. They call it a "widowmaker."
"33 years of marriage ... I said, 'not yet!'" Michelle said.
Thanks to Lett's quick thinking, Michelle and John have even more years ahead.
"I had a purpose. I meant something to somebody. If I died today, know that I saved his life. It just feels good," Lett said.
Lett was recognized by Kroger and the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department. As part of her recognition, she received a Challenge Coin, a rare honor given out by TFRD.
"Just the efforts that Tracy had and the outcome that came from it is just pretty remarkable. As I mentioned, we had 9 or 10 highly trained people showing up, probably $50,000 to $100,000 worth of medical equipment and going to do all sorts of advanced procedures to help have a positive outcome, but really the best thing that happened was that Tracy was there and able to perform early CPR," said Toledo Fire Captain Greg Szumigala.
John is expected to be released from the hospital on Thursday. Lett is looking forward to meeting him soon.