Applying First Aid Training – St John’s First Aid Course
CPR courses save lives. What a great effort by this pregnant women to save her husband. Simple Instruction offers First Aid and CPR courses at the Dee Why RSL (DYRSL) on the Northern Beaches, Sydney. Get accredited training through Allen’s Training and Simple Instruction – we offer HLTAID001, HLTAID003 and HLTAID004 training course that cover all industry requirements.
Pregnant woman saves partner’s life: ‘I would have done CPR until I collapsed’
BEN PIKE, The Sunday Telegraph
February 5, 2017 5:00am
Subscriber only
A MIRACULOUS, superhuman effort from a heavily pregnant woman has saved the life of the love of her life.
Karen Clark’s partner Colin Winn went into cardiac arrest inside their Coogee apartment on Australia Day.
Ms Clark, 36 weeks pregnant, called triple-0 at 3.35pm and was told that to begin CPR she needed to move her unconscious 87kg IT manager partner from the couch on to the floor.
“I’m thinking: ‘How the hell can I do that when I can’t even roll over in bed without grunting’,” the 37-year-old said.
Not only did she get him on to the floor but she then drew on her St John first aid training and performed CPR on him for an incredible 10 minutes before paramedics arrived.
The exertion required for effective CPR means medical professionals swap over every minute.
Doctors said performing CPR for 10 minutes is the equivalent of a fit person running 2km at a three-quarter pace. Ms Clark, who is expecting her first child, did it while eight months pregnant.
“But adrenaline and the man you love dying in front of you, and carrying his child, is the biggest motivator you can ever imagine,” she said.
“I would have done it until I collapsed.”
The second miracle was that the paramedics were carrying a battery-powered LUCAS2 machine, which performs CPR at 100 pumps a minute.
The machine is installed in six rapid response ambulances in the Sydney CBD and is part of a clinical trial between St Vincent’s Hospital, RPA Hospital and NSW Ambulance.
Since the trial started 18 months ago nine of 16 cardiac arrest patients treated at St Vincent’s have survived. The LUCAS2 machine worked on Mr Winn’s heart before the IT manager was rushed to St Vincent’s.
Mr Winn, already a dad to 10-year-old Chiara, was brought to tears when thinking about how close he was to leaving two kids fatherless. He is expected to make a strong recovery.
If they have a boy, the couple is considering the name Lucas — after the device that helped save Mr Winn.
Ms Clark brought Mr Winn back down to Earth, jokingly telling him: “Whenever I ask for a cup of tea and you complain, I will say: ‘Remember that time I saved your life?’ ”
● Ms Clark is raising money to have another LUCAS2 machine installed in NSW ambulances. Visit www.gofund me.com/Lucas-CPR-machine
