The night of July 19, 2012 was very nearly the last for Lance Furbert, Bermuda’s former curator of forts, who this week met the couple who saved his life against astounding odds.

On that day, holidaying with his wife Margo in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park, Mr Furbert’s chances of reaching a defibrillator to jump-start his heart had been slim to none when he collapsed and flatlined.

It was pure chance that Aaron and Tikisha Knight happened to be camping at the adjoining site with their children Cole and Kiera.

The Knights had planned to stay outside the park, and only ended up at the same site through a cancelled reservation.

Luckier still was that Mr Knight, an EMT, not only happened to have his defibrillator with him on his vacation, but handily accessible.

Mr Furbert said that in cases of sudden cardiac arrest, the window of survival is just a few minutes. He had stopped breathing, with no sign of a pulse.

“Needless to say, this was extremely traumatic for Margo but she reacted brilliantly and immediately started chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation,” Mr Furbert said.

“Margo called for help and Tikisha was alerted by a woman in the park. Tikisha is a nursing assistant and she handled the situation with a great deal of professionalism. She took over the chest compressions and instructed Margo as to when to give mouth-to-mouth. Recognising the gravity of the situation, she ran to Aaron to tell him to bring the defibrillator. Aaron defibrillated my heart six times while we waited for the park service ambulance but to no avail.”

On the seventh try, Mr Furbert’s heart kicked back to life, and he was rushed to hospital — where he woke up the next morning to learn that he had been quite literally brought back from the dead.

This Thursday, almost three years to the day later, the couple met the Knights with their son in their hometown of Marion, Indiana.

For the first time, in an emotional event covered by the local Chronicle Tribune, Mr Furbert was able to meet his lifesavers and hear the full story.

“Talking to Aaron and Tikisha made me realise once again how close I had been to death and how blessed I am to be alive,” Mr Furbert said, adding that he thanked God for “the many incidents that came together to bring us through what could have been a terrible and fatal ordeal”.