Woman brought back to life after dying

Doctors say Amy Moore's case is truly a miracle. They say very few people survive the ordeal she suffered.

At the age of 38, she suffered sudden cardiac death -- her heart suddenly stopped and she died.

It happened on September 14. Moore's husband says it was just like any normal day. His wife went to work feeling fine.

"It was very sudden and everything happened so quick," Jacob Moore said. "There was no signs, no symptoms, no anything. When I talked to her earlier in the afternoon, everything was good."

But then, he says, one of Amy Moore's co-workers called him to let him know that his wife had collapsed.

"She called back and said that she wasn't breathing, she wasn't awake, and they were going to take her to Betsy Johnson. I needed to leave as soon as possible," Jacob Moore recalled.

He rushed to the local hospital, where he says he saw the mother of his two children fighting to live.

"She was in really bad shape," Jacob Moore said. "It was very scary, she was unconscious, but she was fighting tremendously."

Amy Moore had suffered sudden cardiac death, which is the cause of 250,000 deaths a year nationwide.

"It's a more common death than lung cancer, breast cancer and AIDS all put together," UNC Cardiologist, Dr. Lisa Rose-Jones explained.

But Rose-Jones says Amy Moore's case was unique because of her age and the fact she didn't have any underlying heart disease. The young mother was eventually flown to UNC, where doctors induced hypothermia -- which has been widely used for about five years.

"It sounds really scary, when the doctors talk to you about it, because they basically freeze you, put you in a very cold state," Jacob Moore said.

"We offered it because we didn't have anything else to offer her and it turned out wonderfully in her instance," UNC Cardiologist Dr. Joe Rossi said.

So far this year, UNC doctors have tried the procedure on 12 patients. Six have survived neurologically intact, including Amy Moore. After spending two weeks at UNC, she was able to return home to her family.

"She has been able to walk out on her own, it was something none of the doctors had anticipated," Jacob Moore said.

Amy Moore did suffer some memory loss and isn't quite ready to talk about her experience, but knows she's a walking miracle thanks in part to a quick EMS response with CPR and the cooling treatment.

"Had she not gone to UNC Chapel Hill, I don't know that we would be sitting where we are right now," Jacob Moore said. "If you're alive and you're happy and healthy, that's what it's all about because you can be happy and healthy and still not make it out of that day."

The Moore family says they've received a lot of support from the community.

On November 20, many of Amy Moore's friends and supporters will gather to celebrate her life by holding a fundraiser to help raise money for the family.

The event is a bike and car show that kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Locked and Loaded Grill in Garner.

For more updates about Amy Moore and for fundraiser details visit the Facebook page that has been set up to share her story.

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