After taking his kids to school, Nidal Balbeisi typically heads to work at his restaurants. On April 18th that was not the case.
A strange feeling told him to go home, and moments later it became clear that feeling was a heart attack.
"I started to get a very strong headache and then after that, I had severe pain in my arm, it was hurting me. I don’t know why but my brain was like I think it’s over with," says Balbeisi.
His wife called 911 and they prepared for the worst.
"I asked her to forgive me if I did something wrong, I told her how much I love her, I said my prayers, and after that I kind of went out," says Balbeisi.
Balbeisi describes what happened next as a heavenly encounter.
"Have you ever seen angels? I did. I met them. These are angels walking on the ground," says Balbeisi.
Those angels wore blue uniforms and arrived in an ambulance. Paramedic Matthew Aymond and EMT Catherine Boulanger rushed Balbeisi to Lafayette General, just in time to save his life.
"We just got the call and we had to do what we had to do," says Aymond.
"We were right place right time," says Boulanger.
Now, a couple of months later, Balbeisi met his angels. This time, under better circumstances. He even gave them and their dispatcher free meals at his restaurants for life.
"He wanted to meet us and thank us personally for saving his life," says Boulanger.
"Which I would say is very special because it’s just nice for somebody to say thank you I appreciate what you do. Its special to me, makes me want to keep doing my job," says Aymond.
"I’m so grateful, I’m grateful forever. Whatever I give to them, it’s the least I can do," says Balbeisi.
