Laura Hart was grateful to be on the Bears sideline during the coin toss at last Sunday's regular-season finale against the Lions. Then again, given what had transpired at the previous game she attended, she was grateful to be anywhere.
Shortly before kickoff of the Bears-Giants contest Nov. 9 at Soldier Field, the 45-year-old season ticket holder had just settled into her seat in the 400 level next to her husband when she collapsed to the ground and went into cardiac arrest.
"Once I realized that she wasn't passing out due to exhaustion or anything like that, I knew that something was really wrong," her husband, John Sabourin, told ChicagoBears.com. "I just started yelling for help."
Two Good Samaritans heeded the call. Dr. Ethan Sterk, an emergency room doctor at Loyola University Medical Center in suburban Maywood, and Riley McIntyre, a police officer from Davenport, Ia., took turns performing CPR. Laura's daughter, Grace, and Dr. Sterk's son, Evan, ran down about 30 rows to alert an usher to what had happened, and a medical response team quickly arrived on the scene with an AED device.
Laura was rushed to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she received further treatment and ultimately remained for 14 days, undergoing a battery of tests. It was during the quiet moments in her hospital room that she reflected on the whole ordeal and what might have happened if multiple people hadn't sprung into action to save her life.
"It took awhile for me to process everything," Laura said. "I would spend a lot of time in the hospital going through a lot of stuff. I would just sit there and tear up at the fact that had circumstances been different, I wouldn't be here."
Laura's husband is also extremely grateful to the medical professionals as well as others at the scene who comforted him and his two daughters.
"I was just taken aback on how helpful and loving everybody was," John said. "These two ladies next to us were hugging our daughter and shielding her from what was going on. People were trying to console me. Just thinking about it, I tear up a little bit about feeling the love from everybody around me."
An emergency physician for 18 years, Dr. Sterk has treated plenty of patients who have gone into cardiac arrest, but this was only the second time outside of a hospital.
"When my son alerted me that someone was down and when I saw how serious it looked, my initial reaction was to go and help," Dr. Sterk said. "I mean, we run toward those things. It's just a natural reaction I've developed over the years: five years of residency and 18 years in practice in an emergency room."
Dr. Sterk was elated when he discovered that Laura had survived and was doing well.
"I've been through a lot of these over the years in the hospital and it seems like a lot of times they don't end up having a good outcome," he said. "So [hearing Laura was OK], I was so happy and amazed."
Invited back to Soldier Field by the Bears for the Lions game, Laura and John served as honorary captains, standing on the sideline during the coin toss. John said that Bears players Kevin Byard III and Grady Jarrett stopped to say hello. Joined by Grace and their younger daughter, Annabel, Laura and John met Bears President & CEO Kevin Warren and reunited with McIntyre before settling into their seats.
As she continues to recover, Laura is on a crusade to raise awareness about CPR. More than 350,000 cardiac arrests occur annually in the United States and immediate CPR can double or triple a victim's chance of survival.
"My big push is recognizing the people that helped and also that CPR really does save lives," Laura said. "The more people that are trained and know how to respond, [the better]."
