A doctor ‘kissed’ her partner for the first time – as she performed life-saving CPR after he collapsed on their first date on a California beach.
Anesthesiologist Andi Traynor, 45, was on her first official date with Max Montgomery, 56, when he collapsed after a morning of surfing.
Mr Montgomery, a tech content creator, had felt a burning sensation in his chest while paddling but didn’t realize anything was wrong until he began to feel exhausted after he left the water.
Max Montgomery and Andi Traynor (pictured) had been on their first date on Capitola Beach in Santa Cruz when he suddenly collapsed
Andi Traynor (pictured), who is an anesthesiologist, had to perform life-saving CPR on her boyfriend Max Montgomery after he collapsed on their first date
Max Montgomery (pictured in the middle) had suffered a heart attack on the beach and he had a number of blockages of his coronary artery. The day after his first date with with Ms Traynor on he underwent bypass surgery to repair his faulty ticker
Ms Traynor, of Palo Alto, California, was shocked as she watched Mr Montgomery collapse on Capitola Beach, Santa Cruz, and couldn’t find her new flame’s pulse when she turned him over.
The mum-of-two immediately began to perform CPR on Mr Montgomery, of Santa Cruz, California, with the help of passersby.
Within seven minutes, an ambulance had arrived and stretchered Mr Montgomery off the beach before reviving him using a defibrillator on route to Dominican Hospital.
Doctors determined that Mr Montgomery had suffered a heart attack and he had a number of blockages of his coronary artery.
Mr Montgomery (pictured) has been left with a scar on his chest following the life-saving surgery to repair his heart
The day after his first date with Ms Traynor on October 19, Max underwent bypass surgery to repair his faulty ticker.
Ten months on he’s back to full health – and he and Ms Traynor are still going strong.
Ms Traynor said: ‘Two days before our first date, Max told me he had a crush on me and I was really interested.
‘We had been friends for a little while and I was really interested in spending some more time together.
‘He suggested we get up really early that Saturday and go surfing. We had such a wonderful time.
‘We got out of the water and he was carrying the boards and all of a sudden he fell.
‘It was so weird. I immediately ran over to him and turned him over.
‘He wasn’t responding and he didn’t have a pulse.
‘I started CPR and I called for help.
‘We were very lucky that one of the people who stopped was a nurse.
‘The ambulance got there so quick and those guys are amazing.
‘We hadn’t revived him and they gave him three shocks on the beach which didn’t work and medicine that didn’t work.
‘When they took him away in the ambulance, I didn’t know if he was going to live.’
Andi Traynor and Max Montgomery (pictured left and right) had been surfing on their first date when Mr Montgomery suddenly collapsed. They haven’t let the incident stop them from getting in the water again
Since their dramatic first date, Ms Traynor and Mr Montgomery (pictured) have been going strong and even found a moment to have their real first kiss
Mr Montgomery added: ‘It was surreal.
‘I woke up in the ambulance and there was a guy leaning over me. He asked me did I know what happened.
‘I said: ‘Yeah I think I’ve had a heart attack, how embarrassing.’
‘It was embarrassing because I finally told this woman I really liked I had a crush on her and she had said it back.
‘Who wants to date someone who just had a heart attack?’
Ms Traynor said she became tearful when she received a call from Mr Montgomery that afternoon, who immediately apologised to her.
Andi said: ‘It was an incredible sense of relief to hear his voice.
‘He told me he was sorry.
‘I was just so relieved because I was so upset that I had just met this amazing person and now he could be gone.’
Mr Montgomery underwent coronary bypass surgery the next day, after which he told Andi that he would understand if she didn’t want a second date.
Mr Montgomery said: ‘When she came in after my surgery I told her I would understand if she didn’t want to keep seeing me. But she told me she was not going anywhere.’
Ms Traynor added: ‘The whole experience made me see who Max really is.
‘All of the friends that visited him and how he treated his family, even at his most vulnerable moments.’
Strangely, Mr Montgomery’s collapse was accidentally captured on camera by Los Angeles composer Alexander Baker, 58, who was filming a time-lapse video of the beach’s seagulls.
Mr Montgomery said he hopes the video will encourage others to learn the basics of CPR, so that they can save a life like his partner did.
‘Through our non-profit Paddle4Good we’ve launched Help A Heart and we hope to use this story and this video to raise awareness about the important of CPR – even knowing the basics can save a life.’
Since their dramatic first date, Ms Traynor and Mr Montgomery have been going strong and even found a moment to have their real first kiss.
Ms Traynor said: ‘A few weeks after his surgery he was recuperating and we were on the beach just talking.
‘I said, ‘You can kiss me for real now.’
Mr Montgomery said: ‘My heart has been healed inside and out. I feel very blessed.’