©InfoFor first aid heroes Matt Smith and Rosie Moran, life-threatening emergencies are like buses – nothing happens for ages then two big ones come along all at once.
Operations officer Matt Smith was returning to his local Red Cross centre on 24 February when he was flagged down by workers from a nearby office saying a colleague had collapsed suddenly.
He ran in and found a man lying prone on the floor and not breathing, who had obviously suffered a cardiac arrest.
Matt recalled: “I immediately started giving the casualty CPR [cardio-pulmonary resuscitation] and attached a defibrillator, which advised administering a shock. That’s when it really hit me just how serious this was.”
Life-saving treatment
He added: “Having given the man a shock, his heart started again. When the paramedics arrived, I continued giving CPR as they worked around me – and he had quite a good pulse by the time he was put in the back of the ambulance."
Matt’s quick thinking and first aid knowledge undoubtedly saved the casualty’s life – and the news got better. Matt added: “The man regained consciousness later that day, and has since had surgery to remove the blockage to his heart.”
Giving oxygen
©InfoJust days earlier, on 13 February, operations officer Rosie Moran was driving through Finchley with colleague Paul Kizintas when they came across a seriously injured road accident casualty. Rosie recalled: “A car had hit a man at 30 miles per hour and he’d ‘bulls-eyed’ the windscreen – that’s the term paramedics use when someone essentially head butts and cracks a windscreen on impact.
“We found him sitting in the road with blood pouring from his ear, and not conscious in any real sense of the word. Grabbing the kit from our Red Cross vehicle, we put him on oxygen and held his head steady until the ambulance arrived.”
Full recovery
Rosie added: “The paramedics seemed pleased to find us there already controlling the situation – we both have ambulance crew training – and when the casualty started fitting, we helped as they attached a collar and put in an intravenous line. They were really impressed with how we’d handled things and were keen to learn more about what Red Cross emergency responders do.”
And, yet again, more good news was on the way. Rosie recalled: “Afterwards, we were all convinced that the poor chap probably wouldn’t make it but, amazingly, he’s absolutely fine. And I’m sure that’s in no small part due to our prompt action.”
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