Nurse Saves Life With CPR at Arizona Walmart

Alissa Ramirez was just buying groceries when she became the difference between life and death for a stranger.

The Scottsdale nurse practitioner was shopping at a Payson Walmart on February 13 when she heard someone had fallen near the entrance. After checking out, she headed toward the exit and saw a man lying face down on the ground, the side of his face turning blue.

A small crowd had gathered around him, but no one was helping. When Ramirez ran forward, someone even tried to stop her.

She insisted the man needed CPR immediately. Flipping him over, she started chest compressions while a manager grabbed the store's automated external defibrillator (AED).

After an employee continued compressions, Ramirez hooked up the AED machine. The device delivered a shock, and the man started breathing again just as paramedics arrived.

The timing was heartbreaking. The man had called his wife while picking up a prescription, mentioning he felt dizzy before collapsing. His wife heard everything over the phone, including the terrifying moment he fell and the chaos that followed.

Sunny's Take

This story reminds us that everyday heroes walk among us in grocery store aisles. Ramirez had performed CPR in hospitals before, but this was her first time saving a life outside a medical facility.

She didn't stop caring after the emergency ended. Days later, Ramirez called the hospital to check on the man and learned he had survived. On Monday, she visited him and his wife at a Banner hospital in the Valley.

Her sister Whitney Fentress reached out to share the story because no one at Walmart had taken Ramirez's information that day. While Ramirez didn't act for recognition, her family wanted others to know about her selflessness.

Thanks to one woman's courage to step forward when others hesitated, a husband got to spend another Valentine's Day with his wife.