“I was in the right place at the right time to help somebody that needed help,” the nurse said while recalling the harrowing incident
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NEED TO KNOW
- A Virginia woman who went into cardiac arrest during a walk was reunited with the nurse who stopped to perform CPR and helped save her life.
- The woman, Melinda Pereira, said she wouldn’t be alive without the quick actions of Alyssa Leimberger
- The pair have since become lifelong friends — and Leimberger hopes their story inspires more people to learn CPR
A woman who went into cardiac arrest during a routine walk at her local park was reunited with the good Samaritan who helped save her — and it sparked a lifelong friendship.
Melinda Pereira took a break from work to walk around Echo Lake Park, a peaceful local spot in Henrico County, Va., in November 2025, according to local outlet WWBT 12.
Pereira, 60, who is the director of a local group home, thought she'd just be stepping out for a few minutes, but she ultimately woke up in the hospital.
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Doctors told the mother of three — who was just days away from celebrating her birthday — that she had experienced a serious cardiac episode, but that another woman who was also at the park that day performed CPR, keeping her alive until paramedics arrived.
“Apparently, I was not breathing, no pulse, and unconscious, and some guardian angel that started the first steps to life-saving measures is why I'm still here today,” Pereira told the outlet at the time.
“The doctors said if everything wasn't in alignment, it would've been a different outcome,” she continued at the time. “Nobody knows her name, they just said she was a nurse and that she did CPR, and I have the sore ribs to prove it, and that her efforts were vital to my recovery, to my survival.”
According to Women's World, the good Samaritan, RN Alyssa Leimberger, happened to see the news segment on Pereira that day — and her husband urged her to reach out so that she and Pereira could officially meet.
The news station helped connect the pair, and Leimberger and Pereira ultimately met up at the same park where the life-changing incident occurred.
“I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you,” Pereira told Leimberger during their joint interview with Women's World.
For her part, Leimberger said she was at the park that day taking a stroll with a friend when she saw a small crowd forming around Pereira — at which point she jumped into action.
Pereira and Leimberger now consider themselves lifelong friends — and Leimberger said she urges everyone to learn basic CPR skills, regardless of their background or profession.
“Everybody should learn CPR,” she said, per Women's World. “You never know where or when you'll be called upon to save a life!”
The women also say they believe they were both at the park that day for a reason.
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“It was kind of one of those moments in life where you just kind of see God's hand in events — and that I definitely believe that I was in the right place at the right time to help somebody that needed help,” Leimberger said while speaking to WWBT shortly after the reunion.
“To know that she was here when she was supposed to be here and meant to be here, I'm just very grateful,” Pereira added.
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