Newport Beach woman saves life

Deepa Bharath

Cindy Lightner knew what she had to do.

She’d been through CPR training. For the last several years, she

had worked as a flight attendant for American Airlines.

When she noticed 60-year-old Ileana Munzer lying face down in the

sand on Woodland Elementary School’s playground the morning of April

26, Lightner knew she had to act.

“I turned [Munzer] over and saw she wasn’t breathing and her eyes

were open,” Lightner said.

Then she gave Munzer CPR. The woman had gone into cardiac arrest.

Costa Mesa Fire officials said Munzer is recovering well at Hoag

Hospital and will likely be discharged today.

Capt. Randy Croll said he has never seen a “sudden death” or heart

attack victim walk out of a hospital, as Munzer is expected to do

today.

“In my 20 years, I’ve seen several cardiac arrests,” he said. “A

lot of them survive. But to have someone recover and go back to

leading the life they were leading is just very, very rare.”

Lightner said it was an opportunity to put her flight attendant

training to use for the first time, she said.

“If this had happened during a flight, it would’ve been just

another day at work for me,” she said. “But just the way it all

happened makes it seem very significant. “

Lightner lives in Newport Beach, but goes to T-ball practice with

her son every week at the Costa Mesa school. On that particular day,

her son did not go to practice because he was sick. But Lightner, the

“team mom,” was there to drop off a banner for the kids.

Saving someone’s life, apart from being an alien experience,

provides a “bizarre feeling,” Lightner said.

“It’s almost like it’s happened to someone else,” she said. “But

I’m glad I did it and didn’t freeze.”

That’s a lesson people must learn from Lightner’s story, said

Larry Grihalva, the Fire Department’s emergency medical services

coordinator.

“It’s important to just do what you know,” he said. “Doesn’t

matter if you forgot how many compressions. The sooner you act, the

more the chances for the victim to survive.”