"I was just so happy that they had helped and I couldn't believe it," Gene Work said.
When a man suffered a massive heart attack while working on his lawn, firefighters rushed him to the hospital, then returned to his house to finish the job.
Gene Work of Bayonet Point, Florida, began to feel chest pains as he was laying down sod, but kept working. His wife, Melissa, saw him struggling and became concerned.
"He was arguing with me, saying that it’ll pass, it’ll be fine," Melissa told InsideEdition.com.
But Melissa's mother and sister are both critical care nurses who'd taught her to recognize the signs of a heart attack. When Gene threw up, she called 911.
"I knew it wasn’t good," she said. "It was scary. I don’t know how I stayed calm, but I did."
A team of first responders showed up and confirmed Melissa's fears of a heart attack. They strapped Gene to a gurney and wheeled him off for treatment. But Gene could only focus on one thing.
"He was saying, 'Please, babe, my sod,' literally in and out of consciousness," said Melissa.
The couple asked their brother-in-law to finish what Gene started so the sod wouldn't die.
But they didn't know that help was already on the way.
After Gene was taken to the hospital, firefighters came back to the home to lay the sod, pitching in to set Gene's mind at ease. Photos captured the men hard at work.
Gene said he was touched by the sweet gesture.
"I ... almost forgot I had a heart attack. I was just so happy that they had helped and I couldn't believe it," Gene said.
It was all thanks to the heroes who saved his life and his grass.
To support the family's medical bills, visit their GoFundMe page.
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