Ashley Goette of West St. Paul, Minn., is being compared to a superhero these days, and not just because she’s a new mother. (Though her 22 hours of labor alone would qualify.) It’s because in the span of four days, she not only gave birth to her first child, but also saved her husband’s life.It all began last Tuesday, around 5 a.m., when Ms. Goette was awakened by her husband, Andrew.
He seemed to be snoring. She nudged him and asked him to roll over. He didn’t respond.Then she realized he wasn’t snoring at all: He was gasping for air.
Ms. Goette, 28, who works as a teacher’s aide at an elementary school, called 911 and the dispatcher guided her in performing chest compressions, instructing her to move her husband to a hard surface.
But she was 39 weeks pregnant, and though she tried, he wouldn’t budge. She continued performing compressions on the bed. The gasping stopped. He was turning purple.
