Denville Woman Authors Book About Her Husband’s Sudden Cardiac Arrest

By Steve Sears

Denville author, Laura Anne (last name not mentioned per request for privacy) recalls the 2017 evening at Caesars Resort and Casino in Atlantic City vividly

“December 27,” she says of the chilly night along the Atlantic shoreline. “The place is bustling, people dressed up and all there to stay or just have fun for the day. And I thought, ‘There has to be doctors, there has to be somebody...”

Her husband, John Stibravy, had just suffered sudden cardiac arrest across the table from his wife while they were celebrating their 20th anniversary. “Fortunately,” she continues, “through the grace of God, there was somebody (an EMT) there, and if he had not been there, this whole story would have been quite different.”

Her husband wrote a two-book set detailing his illness called Aortic Valve Replacement: Through the Dark Curtain and Sudden Cardiac Arrest: Back from the Dead, and his wife has now written her own book about Stibravy’s dying, coming back to life, and long road to recovery. Just Like That…A Story of Faith, Hope, Endurance, and Death tells the story from the spouse’s point of view.

In a bizarre twist of fate, Laura Anne herself suffered sudden cardiac arrest nine months after her husband. She explains.

“I was supposed to have surgery on my foot, and they needed an EKG.” The EKG was abnormal, so a catheterization was performed. ‘When I had the cardiac arrest, it was during that heart cath. The minute they put that dye in me, I felt my chest go on fire and I felt like somebody was burning me from inside out.” Laura Anne was dead for 10 minutes but was revived.

Laura Anne, who is an Oblate of the Order of Saint Benedict, relied on God throughout the event with Stibravy. “I had to rely on whatever personal strength I might have,” she says. “And in the past couple of years after I saw John writing his book, and I thought that it helped him in sort of a cathartic way - he needed to get this out, and I helped him figure out some of the holes that he may not have rememberedthen I thought, ‘Why shouldn’t I write mine down?”

Laura Anne initially did an outline, and then started writing down key areas of the situation as it unfolded in her feelings at the time, mentioning key people that were instrumental in helping and or inhibiting as time went along, and some of her life experiences that brought her to that moment, and helped her get through what she needed to get through. “For me, I felt that it was necessary,” Laura Anne says about the eight-month project. “It took me a while to come to terms with everything that I experienced. It was quite traumatic for me, but it’s also sort of cathartic to write. Certain things are just ingrained in my brain that will never leave, and being my background is counseling and psychology and so on, I’ve always been someone who likes to look at others and kind of figure out what their character is and who they might be. But when this happened, everything sort of slowed down for a few hours.”

Just Like That…A Story of Faith, Hope, Endurance, and Death is available on www. amazon.com.

On Friday, January 13, the Executive Board of the Denville Seniors and the Officers of the four Chapters were installed by Denville’s Municipal Clerk, Tara Pettoni. All the members who attended this wonderful occasion were honored to have present at the ceremony Mayor Thomas Andes, Council Liaison John Murphy and Business Administrator Steve Ward.

Here is a rundown of the members installed and their office:

Executive Board: President Grace Clemente, Vice President Linda O’Hara, Secretary Roseanne Jones and Treasurer Ray Erwine.

Chapter One: President Roseanne Jones, Vice President Ann Glynn and Treasurer Grace Clememte.

Chapter Two… President Geraldine Taormina, Vice President Linda O’Hara, Secretary Dannie Butler and Treasurer Linda O’Hara.

Chapter Three: President Bill Murray, Secretary Roger Bettys and Treasurer Bob Troiani.

Chapter Four: President Susan Stevens, Co Vice Presidents Carol DeLorenzi and Susanna Foerster, Secretary Lucille Lenarducci and Treasurer Harry Bonfanti.

This event took place at the Denville Senior Center at the corner of East Main Street and Hall Street and was well attended by so many members from all the four Chapter Clubs. If you’re a Senior reading this and not a member of one of our Chapter Clubs stop by and see what your Township provides for your fun and enjoyment!