Lea Michele is the star of "Funny Girl" on Broadway, but it was an ICU nurse from Florida who stole the show at a recent performance.
Nicole Horochowski is originally from New Jersey and was on vacation, back home visiting family. She her twin sister and cousin were enjoying the show during the evening of Oct. 28, when she noticed a man struggling.
"We’re sitting there, tail end of the show, last 10 minutes, and I did notice a couple people stand up and in my mind, I go -- it’s not a Yankee game. You’re not gonna try to beat the traffic. You have to see the rest of the show," Horochowski told NBC New York. "The gentleman was truly dragging this other person up the aisle. That’s when you say, 'Let me stand up, let me do something here.'"
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Horochowski tends to emergencies every night at Advent Health Orlando. When she saw the man collapse into a row of people, her instincts kicked in. She believes the man may have had a mini stroke, but isn’t exactly sure what was wrong
"Between talking to him and trying to snap him out of it, you start to do these assessments. Squeeze my hand or you try to pinch them or grab them to see if they would react," she said. "Unfortunately this gentleman wasn’t really reacting."
It all happened on the orchestra level, near the back of the room. Horochowski said she remained discreet in the dark theater, while at the time same helping the man who collapsed and constantly checking if someone called 911.
The man’s husband told Horochowski he takes medication for his heart and blood pressure.
"Lea Michele was singing and the staff had to come and say, 'There’s a show happening,'" she said. "I ended up just whispering the whole process."
As the minutes ticked, Horochowski got the man downstairs and into an ambulance outside.
"What was a little tricky was that the show was ending. [Lea Michele] was in her last final song. We had to get out of there. Just for crowd control," she said
After helping with the medical emergency, the ICU nurse was still able to catch the finale before the curtain dropped.
"And Lea Michele is giving her last note, that was worth it I guess," Horochowski said with a laugh.
She isn't sure how the man is doing in the days after the medical episode. Horochowski said she did get the chance to wish him and his husband well before paramedics took them to the hospital.
