Wife’s CPR to rescue
IT was a course they renewed often, never once thinking they would need to use their training, but if Chris Reid’s wife Charmaine had not had her CPR certificate, Chris would not be here today.
“I tell him now he owes me one,” Charmaine said.
Chris had just returned from the gym and was having breakfast when he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the morning of January 22 last year.
“I thought one of the girls fell out of bed, so I thought ‘I better get up and check’, then found Reidy (Chris) had fallen from his chair and found him on the ground,” Charmaine said.
“Initially I was very distressed but then it was like my body went into autopilot.
“I immediately got Reidy’s phone from the breakfast bench and phoned 000. Then I just did what I had to do, starting CPR almost instantly.”
Charmaine continued CPR for 10 minutes before paramedics, including Samantha Fowler, arrived.
“When we got there Charmaine was doing really, really good CPR,” Ms Fowler said.
“All of that makes an impact on the outcome in the end – calling QAS very quickly, allowing us to get there and provide our treatment. Sometimes we don’t get the outcomes we do.”
Ms Fowler said it was not often paramedics had the chance to shake the hand of someone they had attended in cardiac arrest.
“He received one shock from the defibrillator and then we did CPR for about 12 minutes. After that his heart started pumping again,” she said.
“Everything ran smoothly, not everything turns out like that. I think everything turned out for you that day.”
That day changed the family’s life in an instant and they say they are stronger together now.
“Last year was definitely the hardest year as a couple and as a family trying to keep normality in our lives for our girls was a priority,” Charmaine said.
“We will be forever grateful that it was a positive outcome in such a terrifying situation.”