A‘thank you’ from the heart

Woman o ers gratitude to those who saved her life at courthouse

BY NINA JOSS NJOSS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Shirley Bennett was going through the jury duty selection process at the Arapahoe County Courthouse when o cials called a recess. She and other potential jurors walked into the hallway.

“I remember walking outside (of the courtroom) and sitting on a bench,” Bennett said. “And I remember waking up four days later.” Between the moments she re- members, Bennett, who is 69, went into cardiac arrest. anks to the rapid response of dozens of court deputies and other bystanders on scene that day, she is alive to tell the story.

On March 9, Bennett returned to the courthouse to express her gratitude to the rst responders who saved her life in February by performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“I don’t know you all one by one or name by name, but I love you and appreciate you,” she said.

“You’re in my prayers and you’re in my thoughts. I know we hear the prayers and thoughts thing so much with all the tragedy and things that happen. But I mean that from my heart — no pun intended

— that I love you, I appreciate you.”

First responders

At the event, South Metro Fire Rescue recognized 19 Arapahoe County law enforcement o cers for their e orts in helping save Bennett’s life.

Sgt. Robert Chase, one of the rst people to arrive on the scene of the emergency, was among those recognized.

“It was clear that Shirley was having a pretty signi cant medical event,” he said. “(We) could tell right away — we assessed real quickly — that we needed to start CPR. So that’s what we did, and more people started showing up as well.”

“I’m so excited that Congressman Crow’s team and Congressman Crow asked if they could host a town hall here,” said Englewood Schools Superintendent Wendy Rubin, who introduced Crow.

“He takes his responsibilities and obligations to our country, and to the people that he represents very, very seriously,” Rubin said. “I just could not be more thrilled that he decided to host this town hall here to really welcome Englewood and surrounding communities into CD (Congressional District) 6, and to show how accessible he is and to really show his heart of service.”

Every 10 years, the U.S. population is counted through the national census and districts for the U.S. House of Representatives, also referred to as the congressional districts, are redrawn, according to the Congressional Research Service.

Due to Colorado’s population growth from 2010 to 2020, the state