Drumree woman owes her life to community responders

A GRATEFUL Drumree woman who suffered a cardiac arrest at home says she owes her life to her quick thinking husband and paramedics at the scene.

What started out as another monotonous lockdown day in April 2020 ended with 38 year-old Emma Doyle's world changing forever after her heart stopped, leading the young woman to collapse to the ground with her six month-old son in her arms.

Thankfully Emma's mother-in-law, Ann Marie was present at the time and immediately alerted the emergency services while her distraught husband Damian began CPR on his wife.

The Drumree mother-of-two was rushed to ICU where she spent 13 days in the Mater Hospital in Dublin and says although it was a traumatic event for all, she feels lucky to be alive and wants to highlight the importance of community first responders.

"I was half way through my maternity leave looking after Henry who was two and George who was six-month-old," she explains.

"My husband was working from home and was upstairs and my mother-in-law called in for lunch. One moment I was holding George chatting in the kitchen and the next I was gone. Without any warning whatsoever, I had a cardiac arrest, my heart just stopped.

"I had no underlying medical conditions and did not feel unwell in any way prior to the event. Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time. If I hadn't have survived it would have been classed as Adult Death Syndrome."

Emma says the actions that followed by a number of brave individuals means she is here today to share her story and what she has learned about the importance of learning CPR and establishing Community First Responder groups in every community throughout Ireland.

"Due to Covid, CFRs were stood down across the country a few weeks before I had my cardiac arrest so had the ambulance taken longer to reach me, I likely wouldn’t be here today," she said.

"This is why community first responders groups are so important. These volunteers are trained by the National Ambulance Service to provide high quality medical care while the Ambulance is on its way.

"Ann Marie called 999 where Gabby was on hand to take the call and Carmel to arrange the dispatch. Damien is the hero in this story. He started CPR. He has never had any training but thankfully is annoyingly good at everything and did an amazing job with Gabby’s guidance.

"The first paramedic on the scene was Fiona Tormey. Fiona came through the back door in full PPE after scaling a wall, navigating a ditch and running through a field.

"Damien continued CPR while Fiona prepared the defib and administered the first shock.

"Steve and Andy followed shortly, and after two further attempts, my heart was started again.

"We are so lucky that Fiona was on shift that day, not only is she amazing at her job, she is a friend on the family and had attended our wedding four years previously.

"She was determined that I wasn’t going anywhere.

"Baby George was also okay after his fall. Paramedics Emma, Eoin and Johnny made sure he wasn’t injured and looked after him when me and Damien couldn’t."

The survival rate for out of hospital cardiac arrest is six per cent and survival is dependent on what is known as the chain of survival. Recognising the cardiac arrest and calling 999, early CPR, rapid defibrillation, effective advanced, life support, post cardiac arrest care.

"My chain was rock solid thanks to Ann Marie calling 999, Damien quickly providing high quality CPR, the paramedics arriving quickly with the Defib, and the exemplary care that both they and the Mater provided," said Emma.

"70 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest happen at home so learning CPR and having a CFR groups in your community will save the lives of your family and friends."