Woman thanks first responders, doctors who saved her life

It was an emotional day for a local woman who had the chance to thank firefighters and doctors who saved her life.

Rosie Knox suffered cardiac arrest in her home in May.

“My son said that I mumbled something and then my head kind of went back and he saw that my eyes rolled to the back of my head,” Knox said.

Firefighters took her to Memorial Hospital. Doctors gave her a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Knox was the first person in Colorado Springs to have the procedure.

“It does manage to avoid some of the potential short term and long term complications that we see with our traditional devices,” said Dr. Brad Mikaelian.

Doctors surgically implanted the device in Knox to protect against deadly heart rhythms.

“It’s great knowing that you have this here, just in case something does happen, Knox said. “It’s going to shock me and I’m going to be here the next day.”

She returned to Memorial Hospital with her family to thank everyone who helped her stay alive.

“This is like a second lease on life, and they were all a part of it,” Knox said. “I want them to know how thankful I am.”

Her gratefulness did not go unnoticed.

“We run 10 to 15 calls a day and we don’t get much follow-up or feedback sometimes,” said firefighter Pete Smith. “It’s really nice to see this and be recognized.”