New Grad Nurse Saves Chef's Life Hours After Graduation

Imagine celebrating the biggest achievement of your career and suddenly being called to put everything you just learned into action. That's exactly what happened to Amanda Howard just hours after earning her doctorate in nurse anesthesia.

Howard was enjoying her graduation dinner at Osteria Ama in Center City Philadelphia when a waitress rushed upstairs with a desperate plea. "Is anyone here a doctor?" she asked, her face filled with fear.

In the kitchen downstairs, a line chef had collapsed. He was turning blue and had no pulse.

Howard, who had graduated from Cedar Crest College in Allentown earlier that day, immediately sprang into action. She and a friend, also a nurse, began CPR right there on the kitchen floor.

After just one round of CPR, about two minutes, the chef's pulse returned. Howard's quick thinking and flawless execution of her training made all the difference between life and death.

"Something we do every day, but it's very different to do it on the day that you're celebrating yourself," Howard said. "So it was just very rewarding to be able to use my training in a way that could give someone more time with their family."

After paramedics transported the chef to the hospital, Howard returned to her celebration dinner. She was still partly covered in pasta sauce from performing CPR on the restaurant floor.

Sunny's Take

The timing of this save feels almost meant to be. Howard spent years studying to become a nurse anesthetist, mastering the skills needed to handle life-threatening emergencies. On the very day she celebrated completing that journey, she proved that every hour of training was worth it.

The restaurant's owner confirmed that Howard's immediate response was truly life-saving and played a crucial role in giving the chef a fighting chance. The restaurant comped part of her graduation dinner and gave her a gift card, though no amount could really match the gift she gave.

The chef remains hospitalized but is stable, getting more time with the people who love him thanks to a new graduate who was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.