Wife meets officers who saved husband with CPR

ORLANDO, Fla. (FOX 35 ORLANDO) - On any given day, there are lots of emotional reunions and hugs exchanged at Orlando International Airport, but one particular meeting on Tuesday had special significance for one woman.

“They’re angels,” said Inez Maccumbee, of Master Sgt. Walter Roberson and Officer Dennis Phenix, of the Orlando Police Department.  “How do I thank you for saving my husband’s life?”

The three re-united, formally meeting each other after a frightening afternoon Monday.  Inez’s husband, George, suddenly went into cardiac arrest while walking to the security line.  

“Officer Phenix and I just heard him say, 'Oh!’  We turned around, and we just saw her husband, George. He was laying on the floor completely unconscious,” said Master Sgt.Roberson. 

Doctors told Inez that her husband suffered a “sudden-death heart attack.”  

“He was not breathing very well. He was just gasping. I checked his pulse. He had no pulse,” Roberson explained.

He and Officer Phenix immediately stepped in.  

“We started CPR. He [Phenix] went and retrieved the AED. We went through several full cycles of CPR.  They got the AED. We were able to utilize it,” Roberson explained.  

In the middle of the airport, the two officers performed several rounds of CPR.  The AED helping, adding some instructions.  

“It worked just as it should,” said Officer Roberson.  

Ironically, the two officers just re-certified in CPR last week.  In between hugs and thank yous, Inez showed the officers a picture she snapped of her husband on Tuesday morning.  He was smiling from his hospital bed.  

“I’m just glad to see the pictures of him,” Sgt. Roberson told Inez.  

George is retired from the U.S. Air Force and is also a former police officer.  The two Orlando officers were there within seconds, glad they could save George’s life -- especially on a day when we’re all remembering the fallen.  

“All I could hear was her. She was crying she was praying. She was talking to him, and the only thing I kept thinking about was, just get this done. It was not going to end here. Not today. Not like this. There was just no way,” Sgt. Roberson said.

Inez says her husband is in stable condition. He will be undergoing a slew of tests Wednesday to figure out the root of the heart attack.