By: Ruby Ramirez

On July 25, 2020, everything seemed normal to Mauricio Najlis. So, the 27-year old decided to go for a run. He was coming off a month-long hiatus from working out so that he could focus on an internship that summer. He was an avid kickboxer and athlete and was accustomed to pushing himself through strenuous workouts. He had no idea that this summer day and workout would be utterly different from all others.

During his run, he began feeling tired quicker than usual, which at the time, he attributed to the month he had taken off exercise.

"Right at about mile two, I'm getting tired more than I would like to be," he recalled. "It could have been because I'm out of shape. I hadn't been active. I just keep pushing because that's what I'm used to doing," he said. 

In the moments after he began feeling tired, Mauricio felt a sudden knock on his chest. 

"It was like someone dropped a weight on me. And at that point, I knew - I'm done," he said. 

Mauricio called a family member to come pick him up and decided to sit on a curb. As he waited, the exhaustion continued to overtake his body, and he completely lost consciousness.  

That afternoon, Nickloa "Angie" Davis found herself driving down the same road Mauricio had been jogging on but was headed in the opposite direction. During her drive, something told her to turn around and go the opposite route. 

"Something was like, 'go the other way'. This gut feeling is telling me to turn around and go the other way. I happen to see someone put their hand up off the ground. I could swear his eyes looked at me," she recounted. "Something in my gut said to me, 'This man needs help.'"

Angie, a certified nursing assistant (CNA), pulled over and immediately ran to help. She poured cold water over Mauricio as he laid on the hot pavement. He took a deep breath the moment the cool water hit his body.  

Shortly after, she noticed his face turning blue and that he was not breathing. At that moment, she spoke to herself and said, "You know what to do, Angie." 

She immediately instructed an onlooker to call 9-1-1 as she administered CPR.

"Every time I stopped, he would stop breathing," she recalled. Angie delivered chest compressions and rescue breaths until help arrived, approximately 10 minutes.

According to Maria Najlis, an American Red Cross of Georgia employee and Mauricio's sister, when help arrived, they had to shock him twice to restart his heart because it had completely stopped beating.

"He felt fine. He's super young, has no health conditions. So, it was something that was completely unexpected", she said. 

Mauricio spent close to two weeks in the hospital recovering and was diagnosed with Myocarditis. 

According to Mayo Clinic, Myocarditis can affect a person's heart muscle and the heart's electrical system, reducing its ability to pump, causing rapid or abnormal heart rhythms. The condition can lead to heart failure, irregular heartbeat, and sudden death. 

Myocarditis is typically caused by a viral infection. Mauricio's doctors think the condition may have been caused by COVID-19, which Mauricio tested positive for and was asymptomatic during his hospital stay.

In the weeks following the event, Maria decided to nominate Angie to be honored and recognized by the Red Cross and become a Lifesaving Award recipient. The award for Extraordinary Personal Action, which Angie will be receiving, is presented to individuals who step up in an emergency and help save or sustain a life. 

Honorees exemplify the mission of the American Red Cross to prevent and alleviate human suffering in the face of emergencies and are commended for their willingness to help others in distress.

"My family would never be able to thank her enough. Having some type of recognition, I just felt was one small step in the right direction," said Maria about the nomination and honor for Angie. 

Coincidentally, Angie will receive the award on Mauricio's birthday, who will turn 28 years old on Monday, March 29.

"He definitely would not be seeing that birthday without her stepping in and providing assistance," said Maria. 

For more than 100 years, the American Red Cross has been developing and offering training courses from First Aid to Water Safety in hopes that there are always trained individuals nearby, ready to use their Red Cross skills during an emergency. 

While the Red Cross did not train Angie, the organization encourages people to get trained so they have the confidence, knowledge, and skills to help people in case they're called on to take "extraordinary action" to help save someone's life. 

Sentiments echoed by Maria, "I would definitely encourage anyone to take part in CPR and basic lifesaving skills.

Hopefully, they'll never have to employ them but better to have those skills to fall back and potentially save someone's life." 

To nominate a person or team that has saved a life by utilizing a lifesaving skill, please visit www.redcross.org/take-a-class/lifesaving for their chance to be honored by the American Red Cross. For more information about Red Cross training services or how to take a course in a lifesaving skill, go to redcross.org.