SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Rhonda Smothers doesn’t remember Jessi Martens saving her life.
“Being in one section of the bathroom, changing my clothes, going into a different section, after that I do not remember a thing,” Smothers said.
Smothers says she experienced a cardiac event in a bathroom in August at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House in central Sioux Falls where she is a guest and Martens works.
“I went in there, and she was on the floor,” Martens said. “She had a very, very faint pulse … hooked her up to the AED, and it advised us to start compressions, so I did. And I had another coworker who was on the line with emergency services, and so I just continued chest compressions until the firefighters got in there.”
Smothers survived, and she tells KELOLAND News she had a “quiet and pleasant” Christmas. The holiday followed an eventful past few days.
“I just got out of the hospital this weekend with pneumonia, and I had two blood transfusions this weekend, so from August until this weekend, hospitalization after another,” Smothers said Thursday.
Smothers says she is feeling grateful, which is sort of a default sentiment for her. These days, she and Martens share a connection in the wake of the CPR that kept Smothers around to enjoy Christmas.
“I think about it a lot because after saving somebody’s life there’s kind of a bond there,” Martens said.
“It’s like a mother-daughter type bond,” Smothers said.
Smothers says she’s thankful for what she receives at the Bishop Dudley Hospitality House. It hasn’t escaped her where she might be otherwise.
“Without it, I would be out there in the cold with this health problem and this issue and probably near one foot in the grave,” Smothers said.
Martens works as a front desk supervisor at the shelter which helps people experiencing homelessness. For her, saving a guest’s life is just part of what she does.
Dan Santella: Do you feel like you’re a hero?
“No,” Martens said.
Santella: Why not?
“‘Cause I was doing my job,” Martens said.
On that point, Smothers disagrees; she says Martens is a hero.
