Hero Nurse Saved Man's Life in Nassau Movie Theater

Shyvonne Allen-Ibitoye woke up Easter morning intending to go to church. Instead, her and her son decided to go to the movies first, and then she wound up saving a man's life.

On Easter morning, Allen-Ibitoye's 17-year-old son asked if they could go to see the 11:55 a.m. screening of "Shazam!" at the Lynbrook Regal Multi-Plex, then go to church in the afternoon. Allen-Ibitoye, of Springfield Gardens, Queens, a registered nurse who serves on the telemetry tnit at South Nassau Communities Hospital, agreed and took her son to the movie.

DeShawn Mason, a 48-year-old Far Rockaway resident and New York City School System parent coordinator, took his 7-year-old grandson to see the same show. He took a sip of his drink and started feeling chest pain, and that was his last memory of the day.

Allen-Ibitoye noticed Mason, sitting a few rows behind them, snoring. Listening to the man’s labored breathing, her training kicked in. She sensed something wasn’t right and quickly recognized the man’s breathing pattern as “agonal” and that there was no time to spare to save his life.

Agonal respiration, or gasping, is an indicator of an impending cardiac arrest, and the sooner CPR or uninterrupted chest compressions is applied the greater the chance the victim has of surviving.

Allen-Ibitoye sprung to action: she checked Mason’s pulse, which was faint; recognized that he was sweating heavily; tried to wake him but was unable to do so; applied a ‘sternum rub,’ then she yelled out that there was an emergency, asked for the lights to be turned, and told her son to call 911 from his phone.

Her call to have the lights in the theater turned on went unanswered, so she went out into the lobby to tell ushers that there was an emergency. When she returned, she found Mason was without a pulse and started administering CPR.

The other moviegoers jumped into action as well, lifting Mason out of his seat to put him on the floor, making it easier for Allen-Ibitoye to administer chest compressions. A retired South Nassau nurse also joined in to help, and they alternated providing chest compressions until first responders with Lynbrook Fire Department and Lynbrook Police Department arrived. Two Lynbrook police officers, Kevin Hoffman and Jeff Burke, assisted administering CPR, as did Lt. Jim Bryne and Ex. Captain Cathy Bien of the Lynbrook Emergency Medical Company. Lynbrook Fire Department Chiefs Nick Pearsall and Michael Brooks also assisted in administering CPR.

The police officers used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to administer three shocks to Mason’s heart to try and restore its normal rhythm. Paramedics later arrived and started advanced life support measures.

Mason was transported to South Nassau Communities Hospital, where he was stabilized.

“[Allen-Ibitoye] responded to check on a stranger in a darkened movie theater and helped save his life,” said South Nassau President and CEO Richard Murphy. “She is exactly the kind of nurse we are proud to work with here at South Nassau. Our nurses are on the front lines of providing care and they do so in the communities we serve and in the hospital at bedside. We are so very proud of Shyvonne for her life-saving actions.”

Mason also expressed his gratitude.

“I was drinking a Slurpee and it was really cold,” he recalled. “Then I blacked out. I don’t remember anything after that except when I woke up here. I feel like there was divine intervention. If she, Mrs. Allen-Ibitoye, had not been there, I don’t know if I would be here. It seems like everything happened for a reason, and now I have what I need to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” referring to the treatment he received.

Allen-Ibitoye said she is just grateful that Mason is feeling better and that her training was able to help him.

“I knew something wasn’t right with him,” she said. “When he didn’t respond, I started compressions until the paramedics arrived. I’m just glad everything worked out. When I saw him awake in the hospital, it warmed my heart to know that he was OK.”