这位警探中士拯救生命. 他的妻子救了他。.

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After another emotional day investigating domestic violence and child abuse cases in Perth Amboy, 新泽西, Rafaelito Cruz sat down to dinner with his wife and two of his three children.

After the meal, the 51-year-old special victims unit detective sergeant lingered by the family piano. His son Julian, 18, was teaching himself how to play the song "Unchained Melody."

“哇，朱利安，真漂亮，”拉斐尔说. “我迫不及待地想让你学会全部.不久之后，拉斐尔和他的妻子米琳达就上床睡觉了.

下午三点.m.拉法利托的呼吸声又大又快，吵醒了米琳达. 她以为他做噩梦了，轻轻地拍了拍他的胳膊.

“宝贝，醒醒，”她说.

拉斐尔没有让步. 她使劲摇晃他. 他的身体感到紧张，紧绷着.

米琳达打开床头柜的灯. 拉法利托脸色苍白，嘴唇微微发青. 米琳达拿起手机拨打了911.

She unlocked their front door for first responders, then ran back to their bedroom. 拉斐尔的呼吸慢了下来. 然后停了下来. 米琳达开始心肺复苏术.

“发生了什么事?调度员问道.

“我听不到他的心跳，”米琳达回答.

“你知道心肺复苏术吗?调度员说. “我可以指导你."

“我已经在做了!她说.

MiLinda continued chest compressions until first responders arrived. It was a skill she picked up at a 心肺复苏 class she took over 20 years ago.

当巴内加特镇警察局的警员赶到时, they shocked Rafaelito three times with an automated external defibrillator, 或AED. 他的孩子Julian和Jaylisse, 16, 警官们在杰里斯的房间里互相安慰, 然后是急救医生, 对他起了作用. 最后，拉斐尔的脉搏恢复了.

在社区医疗中心的急诊室, 汤姆斯河RWJBarnabas卫生设施, doctors put him into an induced coma and chilled his body in hopes of preserving his brain function.

MiLinda called their oldest child, Ralph, 22, who was away at college. 拉法利托的警局当晚出钱让拉尔夫坐飞机回家. 他和朱利安、杰里斯、米琳达一起站在拉斐尔的床边.

“爸爸，请醒醒，”朱利安说. “我想为你演奏整首歌."

The next day, while still in the coma, Rafaelito's blood pressure plummeted. 米琳达不肯离开他. 医生开始跟她谈器官捐赠的事.

When he stabilized, nurses convinced her she needed to eat and rest. 她回家待了几个小时. Upon returning to the hospital, a nurse turned to Rafaelito and said: "Look who came to see you."

他睁开眼睛.

拉法利托两小时前就醒了, 但是护士, 知道米琳达很快就会回来, 保存线上电子游戏飞禽走兽.

眼泪顺着米琳达的脸颊淌了下来. 当她告诉朋友, family and co-workers in the hospital waiting room that he was awake, 爆发出一阵欢呼声.

检查显示拉法利托有心肌桥, a typically harmless condition where one or more coronary arteries go through the heart muscle rather than lie on its surface. 目前尚不清楚这是否与他的心脏骤停有关.

他的医生认为，压力可能是原因之一. Rafaelito had recently worked a tough case involving an infant who passed away.

Rafaelito's cardiologist assured him his arteries weren't clogged. He'd experienced only an "electrical" problem with his heart – he didn't have a plumbing problem. “哦，太好了，”拉斐尔笑着说. “我还可以吃炸鸡."

Days later, Rafaelito had a defibrillator implanted in his chest. 如果需要，这个装置可以把他的心脏电击到正常的节奏.

到家后不久, Rafaelito teared up as Julian impeccably played "Unchained Melody" in its entirety on the piano.

2月. 5, five months after his cardiac arrest, Rafaelito returned to work. 他没有告诉很多同事他要回来. The day was filled with surprised faces, well wishes, hugs and tears. “这太不可思议了，”他说.

在拉菲利托20多年的警察生涯中, he's been recognized for pulling people from burning buildings and saving them from gas leaks. 现在，米琳达加入了她丈夫的英雄行列.

在他们经历之后, the family has made it their mission to spread awareness about the importance of quick action and 心肺复苏. “尽快打911，”米琳达说. “你可以拯救一条生命."

MiLinda, for her part, has had nightmares about the evening her husband's heart stopped. At first, she binged on Netflix to stay awake so she could watch him sleep. 现在，她从他的除颤器中得到安慰. 这家人也计划开始治疗.

“有时候我只是看着他，他就抓住了我，”米琳达说. “我还是不敢相信他在这里. We look at life a little differently now, and we appreciate those teeny tiny moments."

发自内心的故事 chronicles the inspiring journeys of heart disease and stroke survivors, caregivers and advocates.