Off-Duty Firefighter, Nurse Wife Save Neighbor’s Life

Chris Favorin was working at home and watching his 6 1/2 month old granddaughter, Layne, when something unexpected happend. Little did he know that he was about to suffer a major health event that would come close to taking his life.

After Layne’s father picked her up, he took a break from work to do his daily workout. He had been working out for 27 minutes when he got tired, so he drank a pre-workout energy drink. However, 100 jumping jacks into his last routine, he started feeling bad. His chest, arms, neck, and jaw started cramping and he thought he was having a heart attack.

Favorin’s fiancé, Villarreal, got him to her car in the driveway and asked Siri for the closest emergency medical service. The nearest hospital was in Manchester, about 10 minutes away from their York Haven home.

Favorin was worried about making the long drive and was relieved to see his neighbors’ cars in the driveway. He went to their porch and rang the doorbell.

The Mowrys were enjoying a rare day off together at home. Chris said that their schedules and their kids’ schedules mean that they’re almost never home together.

Chris, 39, is a professional firefighter. He has worked for York Area United Fire and Rescue, stationed at the Manchester firehouse.

Rachel, 31, works as a nurse practitioner at WellSpan’s Urgent Care. Prior to that, she was a registered nurse, working in York Hospital’s emergency room.

The doorbell rang while the couple was relaxing and their kids were napping, so they used the Ring doorbell to see who it was. They saw it was their neighbor Chris and he looked distressed, so they went to help him.

The couple has seen Chris frequently and he is usually in good spirits. They found him lying on the ground in cardiac arrest and called for help.

Two people called 911 and found a third person not breathing. They started chest compressions and were relieved by EMS in six minutes. The EMS workers used a defibrillator three times to restart the heart of the person, who was then loaded into the ambulance.

They called 911 and took turns doing chest compressions and checking his pulse. EMS arrived in six minutes. It was a crew Chris and Rachel knew, and they seamlessly joined in the treatment while awaiting the arrival of the ambulance.

Rachel rode in an ambulance with their neighbor who had regained consciousness on the way. He told Rachel that he was getting married in five weeks to Villarreal, his partner of 15 years.

“Just keep me alive for the wedding,” he told her.

Favorin was taken to York Hospital’s ER and they found a blockage in his left anterior descending cardiac artery – a blockage called a “widow maker.” Rachel stayed with Favorin until they sent him to the catheter lab.

Favorin heard that and thought, “My soon-to-be wife is not going to be a widow.”

Favorin was in the hospital for two days. He seems to have recovered well. He said he has a family history of cardiac disease, but he had never had any problems. He served in the Army, Airborne, and had jumped out of perfectly good aircraft 74 times and survived.

The doctor told the patient that drinking the energy drink didn’t cause his heart attack, but it may have contributed to it. The patient is grateful to the friends that saved his life.

“I’m here today because of Chris and Rachel,” he said. “I do owe my life to them. I was not ready to go, and I praise the Lord for keeping me around for my wedding and for my granddaughter.”