©InfoDespite being trained in first aid, David Ruffell had never been confronted with an actual serious emergency – until an elderly lady collapsed and stopped breathing before him.
First aid volunteer David was walking to work in Hawkwell, Essex when an elderly lady suddenly collapsed on the ground a few feet away from him. Running over, David found she had lost consciousness and stopped breathing but – thanks to his training – he didn’t panic.
The first aider immediately began performing CPR – the first time he had done so on a real person rather than a training dummy – and asked a passer-by to call an ambulance.
‘So relieved’
David recalled: “It’s tiring to perform CPR, but in a situation like that the adrenalin kicks in and you keep going for as long as you have to. After a few minutes, the lady started to breathe again and I was so relieved. I put her into the recovery position and waited for the ambulance.”
His involvement didn’t end there. The lady had recovered consciousness but was feeling anxious and confused, so David accompanied her in the ambulance to the local hospital. He said: “A big part of what we do as Red Cross volunteers is offer people reassurance in difficult times, so I comforted the lady and let her know what was happening. I also used her phone to contact her son, then waited with her at the hospital until he got there."
He added: “It was good to meet the lady’s son, and he was very kind in his appreciation for what I’d done, but I just did what I’d been trained to do. I’m always glad to have the opportunity to help people.”
Give something back
Now David is more pleased than ever that he took a first aid course. He said: “Everybody has some idea of first aid, but doing the actual training is what makes you feel you can act in an emergency. My recent experience just shows you never know when someone might need you.”
The 58-year-old has been a Red Cross event first aid and fire and emergency support service volunteer for four years now. He said: “I got to the stage in life where I wanted to give back to the community, and I really enjoy my volunteering – we’re all good friends at my local Red Cross centre. And sometimes, people's gratitude and appreciation can be overwhelming.”