Nurse John Sims Has Saved Two Lives — and Counting

For most people, a community health fair is a routine afternoon. For Jonathan Bernal, one such event became the day his heart stopped — and the day a stranger kept him alive long enough for paramedics to respond.

The event was Senior Synergy, held at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Designed to connect older adults with health care resources, it included a station run by a school of physical therapy where seniors performed basic mobility exercises. As Bernal rose from one of those exercises, he felt the room begin to tilt. He spotted a group of medical staff nearby and told them he needed to sit down. Among them was John Sims, a nurse who recognized immediately that something was seriously wrong.

Sims helped lower Bernal into a chair, then knelt to his level and began asking orienting questions — did he know his name, where he was, what day it was. Bernal later described the experience as hearing a voice from the far end of a tunnel. Moments after Sims moved him to the ground, a paramedic on scene confirmed what Sims had already suspected: Bernal had flatlined. He had gone into cardiac arrest.

Sims's intervention bought the time needed. Bernal survived. "I believe that God sent an angel to save me that day," Bernal said afterward. "It does give me faith and confidence that there's still good people out there."

It was not the first time Sims had been in that position. In May 2021, he was present at the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth when 27-year-old Bryson Shilling collapsed near the finish line. Sims performed CPR and resuscitated Shilling, stabilizing him long enough for paramedics to transport him to the hospital.

Sims has been direct about what he believes the broader lesson is. CPR training, he says, is accessible to anyone — and in a cardiac emergency, the minutes before professional help arrives are often the ones that determine the outcome. "Seconds, minutes matter," he said. "My message will be for bystanders to really take that opportunity."

On August 30, 2022, Tarrant County Judge Glenn Whitley formally recognized Sims with a county proclamation establishing John Sims Day.