By Kim Lamb GregoryAfter a 12-hour night shift at Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks, emergency room nurse Claire Gillette was exhausted. The 海角社区CI alumna almost skipped a hot yoga class but decided a workout in a heated room might be just what she needed.
Had Gillette not made the last-minute decision to join the class on that autumn day in 2021, and had she not been prepared with nursing skills she learned at 海角社区CI, a Thousand Oaks wife and mother of two in the front row of Gillette鈥檚 class would no longer be here.
鈥淐laire is the only reason I鈥檓 alive today,鈥� said Erika Cole.
The class was almost over when Gillette, who was in the back, heard a commotion in the front of the class. Class members were gathering around a woman curled up on her yoga mat, her face blue.
鈥淚s she O.K.?鈥� someone asked, followed by a friend鈥檚 panicked, 鈥淓rika!鈥�
Gillette rushed to the front of the room, knelt, and searched for the woman鈥檚 pulse.
There was none.
鈥淭he music鈥檚 going, it鈥檚 hot and humid, and I鈥檓 screaming, 鈥楾urn off the music! Cool off the room! Get me an AED! Call 911!鈥� Gillette said.
Gillette began pumping Cole鈥檚 chest, doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Twice, Cole鈥檚 heart rhythm flatlined, and twice, Gillette had to shock her with the AED (Automatic External Defibrillator).
鈥淚 was getting tired and somebody said, 鈥楽he鈥檚 got two kids!鈥� and I thought 鈥業鈥檓 going to save her if it kills me,鈥欌�� Gillette said.
After Cole was rushed to Los Robles and regained consciousness in her hospital room the next day, the first thing she did was ask to meet Gillette.
鈥淐laire walked in and said, 鈥業鈥檓 pretty sure I broke all your ribs, but I was put in that room to save your life,鈥欌�� Cole said. 鈥淚 started crying. My husband and kids will have me around. I鈥檒l get to live to see my grandchildren.鈥�
Cole was diagnosed with Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, a rare but temporary condition in which the heart muscle becomes stunned or weakened, usually because of emotional or physical stress. She has all but completely recovered and found a new lifelong friend in Gillette.
Cole and Gillette talk almost every day now and even got matching tattoos of the number 8, as the incident happened on October 8, both Mother鈥檚 Day and Cole鈥檚 birthday fell on May 8 last year, and the figure 8 is the symbol for infinity鈥攚hich felt fitting for two new friends for life.
鈥淚 live for and love my boys,鈥� Cole said of her two sons, ages 11 and 15. 鈥淐laire is the reason I have air in my lungs and a beat in my heart. I can鈥檛 possibly express what she means to me, but the easiest thing to let everyone know is that Claire and I are truly my favorite love story.鈥�
Return to the Table of Contents
漏 Spring 2022 / Volume 27 / Number 1 / Biannual