On their way to honor achievements of other colleagues, two nurses from St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Conn., ended up as heroes themselves.

During a flight to the American Nurses Credentialing Center's National Magnet Conference, Lori Broadbent, RN, CEN, and Patty Sheehan, RN, BSN — along with a nurse from Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y. — saved the life of a passenger in cardiac arrest aboard the flight Oct. 14.

"I was sitting behind Patty, and when I saw her jump up, I just automatically jumped up," said Broadbent.

Seconds later, she found herself with Sheehan and LIJMC's Maria Giraldo, RN, BSN, kneeling over a man who wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

Broadbent and Sheehan didn't know Giraldo, nurse manager of the ICU and progressive care units at LIJMC. Yet, in a job where every second counted, the three meshed seamlessly to save their patient.

"I just remember we all said, 'He has no pulse and he isn't breathing.' Then we just each went to work," said Broadbent.

As Broadbent yelled for an AED (automatic external defibrillator) and emergency kit, Giraldo gave the man mouth to mouth and about 15 compressions. While Sheehan monitored his vital signs, Broadbent inserted an IV into the patient.

Seconds later, Sheehan, a staff nurse who also works in nursing informatics, found a pulse.

"We probably had him back within 60 seconds — before the defibrillator arrived from the far end of the plane," said Broadbent.

It wasn't until the pilot made an emergency landing in St. Louis that the nurses realized what they'd accomplished.

"We're not used to all the accolades we've been getting for doing what we were trained to do," said Giraldo. "Nurses save lives all the time, that's what we do, and no one usually says, hey, good job saving a life. This time they are — and it's nice."