DETROIT – Melissa Amormino is a walking miracle.
Emergency room doctors told her she stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating for 5 minutes.
"I legally died. I was dead for over 5 minutes," she said. "I was gone for 5 minutes. I did not see a light, and if I did I don't remember."
A fire this past Friday on Marquette Street spread from the house next door to Amormino's. Smoke filled the townhouse. She ran out and collapsed. She woke up in the hospital to learn she had been brought back to life.
"To actually be able to live and sit here and tell somebody my story, and actually live through it ... I mean, I hurt a little bit but I can move around. I'm very grateful to be here," she said.
Detroit firefighters gave her oxygen. A Romeo unit -- an SUV with medical gear -- jumped in with the crew from Medic 6. An automated external defibrillator, or AED, was used to shock and, basically, restart Amormino's heart.
The EMTs regained a pulse. They sent oxygen straight to her lungs and brought her back.
"I'm just so thankful for the people that were there to help me and that actually cared. I love them and I appreciate them all being there for me. There's no greater feeling than being alive," she said.