LOUISIVLLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- At the end of April, when Adrienne Fortney pulled into a White Castle in Fern Creek, she wasn't jonesing for a slider.
In fact, she has no recollection of being here at all.
"The last thing I remember is leaving the gas station," Fortney said. "I don't even remember pulling out."
This mother of two, who lost her mom to COPD, was in the midst of a massive asthma attack herself, the likes of which she's never seen.
As she reflects, Fortney said she knows time wasn't on her side.
"I would've died," Fortney said. "Eventually, my breathing would have stopped."
She just so happened to park next to a White Castle employee, Lavette Grundy, who went on break not long after Fortney pulled in.
"I had kept noticing this lady who was slumped over in her car," Grundy said. "So I went ahead and called 911, and I stood out here until the ambulance and the police came."
EMTs got Fortney to the hospital. Now, she's on the road to recovery.
"I'm just now starting to get better," Fortney said. "I'm still getting winded. "
She believes the only reason she's able to tell the story today is because of Grundy. All Fortney wants now is to give her a hug, even though socially distance guidelines won't allow for that.
"Six feet distance," she said. "It would be like an air hug going on."
For now, she'll just say she's grateful a good person and complete stranger who wasn't afraid to do the right thing.
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