Wellingtonians are being urged to learn cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) skills, as Wellington Free Ambulance
recognises Restart a Heart Day on 16 October,
an international event which is aimed at improving
survival rates from sudden cardiac arrests.
A sudden
cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that can strike
anyone, at any time, at any age, anywhere. It could happen
to a toddler in bed, a 22-year-old athlete on a sports
field, a hardworking middle-aged mum at home, or a
grandfather enjoying his retirement.
Every week, on
average six people in Greater Wellington/Wairarapa will
suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. Whilst this number is
unsettling, the most important thing to know is that
survival rates can be increased by up to 80% with early CPR
and use of an AED.
Teenager Sophia Phillips is living
proof that bystander CPR can save a life. Earlier this year,
Sophia was found at the bottom of a swimming pool in
Wellington by her mother Marlene.
As Marlene rushed to
the pool with her son Elliott, she discovered Sophia’s
sister Brittany had jumped in and dragged Sophia from the
bottom of the pool. Together, Brittany and Elliott
frantically tried to revive her with lifesaving
CPR.
All the Phillips children are passionate surf
lifeguards – meaning they are trained in CPR. This was to
prove one of the most important tests of those resuscitation
skills as they hastily worked to save their sisters
life.
Meanwhile Wellington Free Ambulance Medical
Director Dr Andy Swain was enjoying a refreshing afternoon
ocean swim at nearby Oriental Bay beach. Noting the multiple
emergency responders descending on a local house, Dr Andy
headed towards the commotion to see if his medical
assistance was needed by his colleagues.
The scene at
the home was one of action – all emergency responders –
FENZ, Wellington Free Ambulance and Police working together
to save the young girls life. Sophia’s brother and sister
had done a wonderful job using CPR to maintain the flow of
oxygenated blood to her vital organs until the emergency
services arrived. They quickly swung into action giving her
heart two shocks with a defibrillator, the whole team worked
in unison to try and stabilise Sophia enough for the
ambulance to take her to hospital.
Sophia was still
gravely unwell, but alive, largely thanks to the quick
thinking and action of her brother and sister for
immediately starting CPR.
“I know that Sophia
would not be with us today if her brother and sister had not
known CPR, it is such an important skill for anyone to have
and no one ever knows when they might need to do it to save
a life” reflects Marlene.
Sophia spent five days
in Wellington Hospital’s ICU but remarkably and despite
all predictions regained consciousness and was discharged
only 8 days after her drowning. It was later discovered that
Sophia has a rare genetic heart condition called Long QT
that can cause cardiac arrest.
Remarkably just seven
months on Sophia is almost back to full strength, back at
school, enjoying time with family and friends and looking to
the future. Sophia experiences fatigue from time to time but
is largely back to how things were before this life changing
medical event.
Rachel Evans, Senior Heartbeat
Coordinator at Wellington Free Ambulance says, “anyone and
everyone can learn CPR and make a life-changing difference,
just like Brittany and Elliott Phillips did. Our message is
simple – you don’t need to be a paramedic to save
someone’s life. You just need to be able to perform CPR
and know how to use an AED. We want as many people as
possible to learn how to do this.”
Restart A
Heart Day has been growing in strength since its launch
in Australia and New Zealand in 2017. This year Wellington
Free Ambulance will be running a special event at Wellington
Airport on Friday 14 October from 9am-5pm. They will be
giving CPR demonstrations and quick one-on-one training
sessions to help share the message and educate the public in
how to perform CPR and how to use an AED.
Wellington
Free Ambulance also offer free CPR training courses year
round. Thanks to the very generous support of Julie Nevett
and The Lloyd Morrison Foundation, this training is provided
completely free of charge for the Greater Wellington and
Wairarapa community.
For more information on Restart a
Heart, please visit https://restartaheart.net/
For
more information about Wellington Free Ambulance, please
visit https://www.wfa.org.nz
To
book a free CPR training course, visit www.wfa.org.nz/heartbeat
© Scoop Media
Discussion about this post