Shirley Bennet is thanking God she was doing her civic duty one day last month.
Like everyone who gets the jury duty notice she tried to get out of it. But alas she had to serve.
While the court was in recess, the 69-year-old juror stepped out into the hallway of the Arapahoe County Courthouse, suffered a heart attack and collapsed.
Fortunately for Bennet, she was quickly attended to by several well trained deputies For nearly 10 minutes, deputies performed CPR on Bennet until paramedics arrived, took over and transported her to a nearby hospital. South Metro Fire Rescue’s medical director later said that Bennet wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for that early intervention.
Last week, Bennet, who’s fully recovered from the episode, returned to the courthouse to thank the first responders who saved her life. More than a dozen of Arapahoe County’s finest were recognized for their efforts. Bennet knows how lucky she is to be alive and is thankful she was there that day. “I'll never complain about jury duty again," she says. Back in 1969, Bennet took her first CPR class and taught it for many years before she retired. And now she hopes her story will inspire others to learn CPR.
"I didn't want to have to court, but God needed me there so he could use me to inspire others, so I thank Him for using me in His plan".
Photo: Getty Images