VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach woman jumped into action to save a man suffering from a medical emergency.
“At the moment, I felt like I could’ve just left the world at that time,” Jim O'Neal said.
Jim O’Neal has a simple routine on Thursday nights. He picks up food for his family at Jersey Mike’s in Virginia Beach after playing golf.
But on September 1st, his routine didn’t go as planned.
“Apparently I just got dehydrated and dizzy and fell out in line,” he said.
Luckily, a healthcare worker stood in line behind him and jumped in to help.
Niema McEntyre said she just finished her shift at Sentara Princess Anne Hospital when she walked into the sub shop. She said she quickly applied pressure to his head to stop the bleeding.
“So I’m fanning him with my badge just making sure he was ok, because his color looked different. So, I just said, ‘Just stay with us, stay with us,” she said as she remembered the events.
Medics took O’Neal to the hospital and confirmed he suffered from dehydration and a severe concussion from the fall.
“All I remember is going through the halls of the emergency room,” O'Neal said.
“He was on my mind the whole night," McEntyre said. "I didn’t sleep at all. I had to contact his wife.”
O'Neal said he was in the hospital for more than a day before being released.
McEntyre has checked up on O’Neal every day since the incident. O’Neal said all he wanted to do was to thank her in person.
“I had to meet this woman that directed us in a manner that got me to the hospital as quick as possible,” O'Neal said.
On Monday morning, that reunion came to fruition, and now they have formed a lasting friendship.
“It feels so nice to see him because he looks like a different person," McEntyre said. "I’m just so happy that Mr. O’Neal is okay and breathing right now.”