Become A Life Saver This October

Wellingtonians are being urged to learn cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skills, as Wellington Free Ambulance recognises Restart a Heart Day on 16 October, an international event which is aimed at improving survival rates from sudden cardiac arrests.

A sudden cardiac arrest is a medical emergency that can strike anyone, at any time, at any age, anywhere. It could happen to a toddler in bed, a 22-year-old athlete on a sports field, a hardworking middle-aged mum at home, or a grandfather enjoying his retirement.

Every week, on average six people in Greater Wellington/Wairarapa will suffer a sudden cardiac arrest. Whilst this number is unsettling, the most important thing to know is that survival rates can be increased by up to 80% with early CPR and use of an AED.

Teenager Sophia Phillips is living proof that bystander CPR can save a life. Earlier this year, Sophia was found at the bottom of a swimming pool in Wellington by her mother Marlene.

As Marlene rushed to the pool with her son Elliott, she discovered Sophia’s sister Brittany had jumped in and dragged Sophia from the bottom of the pool. Together, Brittany and Elliott frantically tried to revive her with lifesaving CPR.

All the Phillips children are passionate surf lifeguards – meaning they are trained in CPR. This was to prove one of the most important tests of those resuscitation skills as they hastily worked to save their sisters life.

Meanwhile Wellington Free Ambulance Medical Director Dr Andy Swain was enjoying a refreshing afternoon ocean swim at nearby Oriental Bay beach. Noting the multiple emergency responders descending on a local house, Dr Andy headed towards the commotion to see if his medical assistance was needed by his colleagues.

The scene at the home was one of action – all emergency responders – FENZ, Wellington Free Ambulance and Police working together to save the young girls life. Sophia’s brother and sister had done a wonderful job using CPR to maintain the flow of oxygenated blood to her vital organs until the emergency services arrived. They quickly swung into action giving her heart two shocks with a defibrillator, the whole team worked in unison to try and stabilise Sophia enough for the ambulance to take her to hospital.

Sophia was still gravely unwell, but alive, largely thanks to the quick thinking and action of her brother and sister for immediately starting CPR.

“I know that Sophia would not be with us today if her brother and sister had not known CPR, it is such an important skill for anyone to have and no one ever knows when they might need to do it to save a life” reflects Marlene.

Sophia spent five days in Wellington Hospital’s ICU but remarkably and despite all predictions regained consciousness and was discharged only 8 days after her drowning. It was later discovered that Sophia has a rare genetic heart condition called Long QT that can cause cardiac arrest.

Remarkably just seven months on Sophia is almost back to full strength, back at school, enjoying time with family and friends and looking to the future. Sophia experiences fatigue from time to time but is largely back to how things were before this life changing medical event.

Rachel Evans, Senior Heartbeat Coordinator at Wellington Free Ambulance says, “anyone and everyone can learn CPR and make a life-changing difference, just like Brittany and Elliott Phillips did. Our message is simple – you don’t need to be a paramedic to save someone’s life. You just need to be able to perform CPR and know how to use an AED. We want as many people as possible to learn how to do this.”

Restart A Heart Day has been growing in strength since its launch in Australia and New Zealand in 2017. This year Wellington Free Ambulance will be running a special event at Wellington Airport on Friday 14 October from 9am-5pm. They will be giving CPR demonstrations and quick one-on-one training sessions to help share the message and educate the public in how to perform CPR and how to use an AED.

Wellington Free Ambulance also offer free CPR training courses year round. Thanks to the very generous support of Julie Nevett and The Lloyd Morrison Foundation, this training is provided completely free of charge for the Greater Wellington and Wairarapa community.

For more information on Restart a Heart, please visit https://restartaheart.net/

For more information about Wellington Free Ambulance, please visit https://www.wfa.org.nz

To book a free CPR training course, visit www.wfa.org.nz/heartbeat

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