At the beginning of January this year, Mandy suffered a cardiac arrest at her home in Oxford.
Thanks to vital teamwork between her family, neighbours, our call taker, dispatch team and the crews who treated her at scene, Mandy has made a remarkable recovery.
Mandy had been complaining of chest pain that morning, and was found to collapse and stop breathing. Luckily for Mandy, the whole family stepped up with one daughter doing CPR after learning it in military training, another daughter running for the nearby AED, and her husband getting a neighbour who they knew was a retired medical professor.
The first ambulance arrived just 6 minutes after the 999 call began and applied their defibrillator, giving Mandy one shock which was all it took to get her heart beating again. By the time the second ambulance arrived 3 minutes later, Mandy was already showing great signs of improvement. The crews continued to treat Mandy and were supported by the helicopter medics. Mandy was in hospital within 53 minutes of the original 999 call.
Once in hospital, they identified she had an unusual type of heart attack and fitted a stent to open the blockage. Despite some sore ribs from the CPR, Mandy was home 9 days later.
After joining cardiac arrest survivor groups on social media, she realised she could ask to meet with the crews who helped to save her life and was very keen to do so. She even thoughtfully bought handmade cakes in, even though her husband quipped that she never baked!
When asked how she felt to be reunited with the crew, Mandy said ‘it made me realise how lucky I am, how grateful I am and what a deeply valuable job that they do’. She added that she hoped it was good for them to meet her too – to be able to see a success story from their work.
Since Mandy’s arrest, the whole family have been on a CPR course and advocate for anyone else to learn this skill as it truly does save lives. Paramedic Paul agreed with this and said ‘This was a fantastic outcome for Mandy and her family – huge credit for this goes to Mandy’s family and neighbour for starting CPR before the ambulance arrival. CPR saves lives and I would encourage everyone to attend a first aid course and learn this skill’.
Mandy’s tenacity has also meant that she’s walked over 120 miles in May to raise over £4,000 for British Heart Foundation.
Mandy says that the event has changed her whole outlook on life and she will always be thankful to the crews for their part in saving her life.
Left – right in photo: Tim Massie (Student Paramedic), Simon Linton (Team Leader), Simon, Lola, Mandy, Paul Cave (Paramedic), Jordan Kerby (Student Paramedic).