MISSION VIEJO, Calif. (KABC) -- It was a scary night at the gym for Norah Letona Monday.
She saw a man collapse while running on the treadmill around 7:30 p.m. following her workout at Sierra Recreation and Fitness Center in Mission Viejo.
"I was really amazed to see he didn't have a pulse since a minute earlier he had been on the treadmill working out vigorously," Letona said.
Paramedics say 51-year-old Hugh Van Dinh went into full cardiac arrest.
"His head was still on the treadmill and the treadmill was still rolling," Letonah said.
Letona, a registered nurse, immediately began checking his vital signs.
Jose Campos was working the front desk at the time. The former U.S. Navy medic, who served two tours in Iraq, called 911 and then rushed to help.
"It brought me back to being deployed and being in those situations where it's life and death," Campos said.
Campos says Van Dinh came to for a second, then stopped breathing and had no pulse. Letona grabbed the gym's automated external defibrillator or AED. After shocking him twice, Letona and Campos took turns performing CPR. That's when Van Dinh started breathing again.
"I couldn't believe it. The patient woke up. I was just stunned. It was like a miracle," Letona said.
It's a miracle for which Van Dinh's wife and two daughters are extremely grateful.
"They get to have more holidays, birthdays, family gatherings and that's really the true joy," Campos said.
Paramedics say Van Dinh is awake and alert at Mission Hospital. He is expected to make a full recovery.