Heart Stopping Moments

But everything that is supposed to happen in these emergencies, happened: There was immediate, uninterrupted high-quality CPR. An AED was brought immediately and used. Ambulance was phoned and given eircode immediately. This is the first step in the chain of survival. And today, that person is awake in hospital and back chatting in the club WhatsApp.

Everyone deserves the same chance at survival. That person did not survive because a doctor happened to be there. They survived because everyone knew what to do, we could get an AED, the Eircode was on the wall, and lots of capable people could take turns doing hands-only CPR which meant high-quality, uninterrupted CPR.

You won’t get a warning when this will happen on your sports pitch or on your golf course or in your school. This can happen to young people.

If you are reading this: if this happened tomorrow in your community, can you do CPR? Can your child’s teachers or coaches do CPR? Where is the AED – can you get it quickly or is it locked up? Wher is the Eircode for your pitch or club displayed?

For me, I am so, so, so proud of the people in my club. I gushed to my colleagues at work today it was like watching the Red Cross BLS training video. Everything that is supposed to happen in these emergencies, happened. Because in my years as a doctor, I have cared for patients after these events later in hospital; many missed critical chances between collapse and the ambulance arriving. But last night, the chain of survival worked.