Woman saves comedian who collapsed in Philadelphia club

NORTHERN LIBERTIES (WPVI) -- A comedian performing at a club in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia was saved by an alert woman in the audience, who recognized the performer was in trouble.

Jason Weems was on stage Wednesday when he suddenly pulled out an inhaler and ran outside.

Fortunately, physician assistant Lauren Fox was in the audience. She ran outside to help and found Weems, a 40-year-old father of three, bent over.

She brought him back inside.

"The moment I gave him water he basically coded. He turned blue, eyes rolled in the back of his head," said Fox.

It got worse from there.

"I felt for a pulse and I thought I was just imagining it, this 40-year-old man did not have a pulse in front of me," Fox said. "So I just jumped right on his chest and I did about four minutes of CPR."

There was still no pulse, but her training compelled her to keep at it as she waited for paramedics.

"Once the medics got there we were able to put an IV in his neck and put a breathing tube in him and get him back," said Fox.

Weems was revived, and left the hospital Friday morning, with his wife driving him home to Baltimore.

He issued a statement, saying "There are literally no words that can express my gratitude and love for what Lauren Fox did for me and my family. What started out as just another night on stage for me, telling jokes, took a quick turn that nearly ended my life."

"Lauren's quick thinking saved my family from that most possible reality," Weems' wife said in a message. "I cannot thank her enough."

----------

Send a breaking news alert
Report a correction or typo
Learn more about the 6abc apps