SEFFNER, Fla. — A Hillsborough man is lucky to be alive after his heart stops in the middle of a church service. Due to the quick actions of a nurse who was sitting nearby, he was able to survive.

• Al Scott was attending church service when his heart stopped
• A nurse happened to be at service; was originally supposed to be at work

Al Scott was back in his usual seat on Sunday at Landmark Baptist Church in Seffner. A week ago, he did not know if he would ever sit there again.

"I don't remember coming into the church at all," Scott said.

During service last week, his wife Louise suddenly noticed something was wrong.

"I was asking him questions. And there was no response. I stood up and he was staring ahead with his mouth open. I cried for help," Louise recalled.

Her cry for help was quickly answered by Angie Lorigen, who just happens to be a lead cardiac nurse at Florida Hospital in Tampa.

"One look at him you knew he was in trouble. I took his pulse, there was none. Several helped me get him on the floor. I then started CPR," Lorigen said.

She and others in the church kept chest compressions going until help arrived. The church service almost became a prayer service as folks looked on and prayed for Al Scott.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies quickly arrived with an AED and Al Scott was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Doctors say his heart had stopped and that he was moments from dying.

"One of the reasons he's doing so well, is that we started CPR so fast. There was really no down time. We got him right down and started CPR. That's so vital," Lorigen said.  

Al Scott and Louise feel they were being watched out for.

"I teach lessons on angels," he said. "God puts angels around us. I think there are such things as guardian angels and God had a plan for me."

"God put us at the right spot, at the right time with the right people," Louise said.

Lorigen says she was not even supposed to be at church that day because she usually works. She had changed her shift to be with her son on his birthday.

The church is also working on getting an AED to be there at all times.