DETROIT – Susie Dubin was having a heart attack.
"All of a sudden, I burst into immense heat, like I had been put into a furnace," said Dubin. "My arm started to tingle, and then I felt like someone had stabbed me in my shoulder blade."
Dubin was rushed to a hospital, and after three hours of surgery her family, was told that she might not make it through the night. But Dubin was not ready to give up.
"My cardiologist came in, and he said you've done extensive damage, and you are going to have a new journey," Dubin said. "Through the oxygen mask, I said, I will donate my life to the American Heart Association."
"So is this one of those deal with God kind of things? If you let me live, I will work for the American Heart Association?" asked Mitch Albom.
"Not work for them. I was going to give myself to them," Dubin said. "I just happened to believe that if you are given a second chance, it's for a reason, and you need to give back."
Dubin spent the next year building up the strength to fulfill the pledge she made that day. She is now a vibrant speaker and fundraiser for the local chapter. She practices what she preaches everyday while she waits for the next phase in her journey -- a new heart.
"I'd already proven to myself and a lot of other people that I am a survivor," Dubin said. "I will tell you that when I did leave the hospital, and they were wheeling me out, and I looked up, and I said, 'You won't be sorry.' And that's a promise I have to keep."
A promise made and a promise fulfilled, Dubin puts a little extra meaning into the heart of Detroit.
Heart of Detroit