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KIRKSVILLE, MO -- Laura Atchison, a former first responder, and now a waitress at Rosie's Northtown Cafe in Kirksville, has been trained in CPR for the past 25 years. But last Thursday she had to put her skills to the test at work when a man collapsed outside the cafe in the parking lot.

"I went over and looked, and I could see he was limp and not moving. We laid him down. I knew there was something wrong. I just kept talking to him trying to keep him with us. We called 911. His lips turned blue and stopped breathing. I started CPR. I was scared and shaking. I just didn't want him to die. I just kept giving him CPR," Atchison said.

Laura kept performing CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene and worked on the man for 15 minutes until he was stable enough to transport to the hospital. Everyone said that it was Laura's quick thinking that saved his life and she is a real true hero. She said she just did what any good samaritan would do.

"I just did what I knew how to do until help got there. Just him being ok is good enough. I don't need anything. I'm just happy he's ok. Happy for him and his family," Atchison said.

The man Laura saved, Larry McClanahan, had a heart attack is still in a Columbia hospital.

Laura says that everyone should learn CPR.