Resuscitation before mass

Religious sister saves organist’s life in church

Sister Christine Huber and a colleague resuscitated Josef S. - today he can laugh again.(Bild: Klinikum Wels-Grieskirchen)

Organist Josef S. (85) collapsed on the way to his instrument before Sunday mass in Grieskirchen. Religious Sister Christine Huber immediately began resuscitation - but the experienced qualified nurse does not see herself as a hero after the successful rescue.

"There was a terrible bang, I got up and ran straight away," says nun and qualified nurse Christine Huber, describing what happened on January 5. Shortly before the start of Sunday mass that day in the parish church in Grieskirchen, the long-time organist Josef S. (85) collapsed - on the way to his instrument, of all places.

"I felt his pulse and immediately started to resuscitate him with a colleague," continues Huber (66). "Then the emergency doctor and paramedics arrived and we were told that the patient had been taken to hospital and was breathing. That was a relief."

"A matter of course for me"
In mid-January, Josef S. underwent a triple bypass at Wels-Grieskirchen Hospital. "He is now being discharged," says Huber, who has worked as a qualified nurse at the hospital for 40 years.

However, the nun of the Franciscan Sisters from Vöcklabruck does not see herself as a hero after the successful life-saving operation: "For me, it is a matter of course to help people and save them if it is possible."

For me, it's a matter of course to help people and save their lives whenever possible.

Ordensschwester Christine Huber (66)

An organist with heart and soul
And patient Josef S. has never lost his sense of humor: "I only have my first memories from the intensive care unit in Wels," he says. "My family came straight away, of course, and I greeted them with a smile. However, I was worried about whether someone had played the organ at the mass."