Mother-of-three Lisa Colborne says she wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for the lifesaving heroics of our colleague Lauren Watt who carried out CPR on her for 15 minutes after she collapsed in our Tranent store with a brain aneurysm.
Lisa, who's 39, said: "What Lauren did for me that day was simply amazing. She definitely saved my life and I can't thank her enough."
Section leader Lauren, who's 31, was just leaving the store at the end of the day when she received a phone call from another section leader, Brodie Ross, that Lisa had collapsed by the front door.
Lauren, who's first aid trained, said: "I rushed to the incident while Brodie was on the phone to the emergency services. I found Lisa unconscious on the ground and not moving. Knowing I was first-aid trained Brodie passed over the phone to me and I followed the instructions of the 999 operator.
"We put the defibrillator pads on Lisa to monitor her and I began CPR and did so until the paramedics arrived. They then instructed me to keep going while they got their equipment. So I was giving CPR for roughly about 10 to 15 minutes.
"I had the phone to my shoulder all the time I was doing the compressions and the operator kept me really calm and was counting with me.
"At the time I was just totally focussed on what I was doing. I was just saying to myself 'keep going, keep going' so I could save her. It was probably the most terrifying experience I've ever had in my life. Knowing now that she is okay is an incredible feeling, it really is.
"When the paramedics took over I just felt totally exhausted. While I was doing the CPR my adrenalin had kept me going. Although I was first aid trained you don't expect to use it like that!"
Lisa was taken by ambulance to the Western General Hospital where she had an emergency operation.
Lauren said: "It's a really proud feeling that Lisa's here today because of what I did. The paramedics said if that if I hadn't kept Lisa's bloods flowing by administering CPR she would no long be with us. I'm just so happy that I've helped her stay to with her family."
Lisa, who's recovering at home after her ordeal, remembers very little of the incident. She was rushed to hospital where she had surgery for a ruptured aneurysm on her brain. She also developed pneumonia.
Lisa – who has three children Rylie (eight), Dylan (21) and Brendan (19) – was in hospital for two weeks and is now recovering at home, although she is still not allowed to work.
She said: "I really can't thank Lauren enough. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for Lauren. She kept me alive. She had to give me CPR for about 15 minutes so was quite a long time. I did end up with a broken rib, so that shows how long she was doing it for. Better to have a broken rib though than be dead! Everyone was so scared, they didn't think I'd make it."
Store manager Peter McAloon says the whole store was proud of Lauren. He said: "Lauren shows a lot of compassion and empathy in everything she does in the store to both customers and colleagues. She's very caring and responsible. She's just the complete package for what we are looking for in Asda.
"I only heard about the incident second hand because Lauren is so humble. She wasn't putting it out that she'd saved someone's life – which speaks volumes about her as a person. Saving someone's life is not something you do every day. We are so proud of her."
