Most of the time when you hear a first date story, you know that you're hearing it because there wasn't a second date. First date stories are synonymous with horror stories. First dates have a horrible reputation, yet we all need to go on a first date for their to be a second, third, and hopefully many more.
Whenever you hear a good first date story, it's told after the two people are married, and it's almost always something dull. It just seems to be a rule of life that you either get something horrible and interesting, or something dull and long lasting. That's not quite the case with this tory though.
This story is the ultimate first date story. It has romance and rescue all wrapped into one. When Doctor Andi Traynor went out on a first date with Max Montgomery, she had no idea that it would lead to heroism. Read on to find out how a first date turned into a life saving rescue.
Our story began when Dr. Andi Traynor and Max Montgomery, 46 and 45 respectively, went out on an adventurous date. Instead of the usual coffee date, they went paddle surfing. Now, that might make an interesting story on its own, but what really turned this into a memorable occasion was what happened after they were done.
As the two of them walked back on the beach, Max Montgomery suddenly went unconscious and collapsed on the sand. As it turned out, he was having a heart attack (it must have been a very good first date!). Luckily Max had chose the perfect woman to go on a date with that day. Dr. Andi Traynor is an obstetrical anesthesiologist at Stanford University, which means she was well equipped to jump in and help. As Max Montgomery told TODAY: "If she's not there, I'm dead."
Dr. Andi Traynor instantly flipped him over and began performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Max was completely unconscious during this first kiss, but Dr. Andi Traynor couldn't have chosen a better time. His heart had stopped for seventeen minutes, and by the time the ambulance had come, he had to be defibrillated back to life. The whole event was caught on camera by a videographer who had been filming at the beach.
Dr. Andi Traynor stayed back at the beach while the ambulance took Montgomery away, not sure what to think of the whole situation. Traynor told TODAY: "When they took him away in the ambulance I had a lot of thoughts running through my head, the first of which was, 'What kind of luck is this? I don't know what just happened, but I think he just died on me."
It's not as if Max Montgomery is out of shape or unhealthy. In fact, it is reported that the night prior he had run over ten miles. Unfortunately the culprit is most likely hereditary. Heart disease runs in his family. The day after he was taken to the hospital he had surgery to repair the blocked artery. That was all a year ago, yet the two of them are still together. She quickly visited him at the hostpial, and according to Montgomery: "When she came and visited me in the hospital, I said, 'Who wants to be with the guy who just had a heart attack? I understand if you run for the hills.'I'm here, this is where I want to be."
They currently have a nonprofit called Paddle4Good that teaches CRP to paddleboarders.
