Mum thanks her saviours
MEGAN Semmler cannot remember the night she almost died from a heart attack.
But her family will never forget it.
The Helensvale mum collapsed in a cardiac arrest just before 9.30pm on New Year’s Eve in her family home and was saved by her husband, son and paramedics.
Yesterday, Ms Semmler, 47, met the emergency workers who worked on her for nearly half an hour.
The epic rescue, which included multiple defibrillators from paramedics and nearly 26 minutes of CPR, allowed Ms Semmler to regain a heartbeat and be transported in a critical condition to hospital where she spent almost three weeks recovering.
Her husband Michael and her 14-year-old son Jonah were the first ones to call triple 0 and perform CPR. They were awarded a certificate of appreciation by QAS.
When paramedics arrived they had to give Ms Semmler nine shocks to bring her back to life.
Critical response paramedic Gary Berkowitz yesterday described Ms Semmler’s case as a “miracle” and said it was a challenging night.
“She wouldn’t have been alive if it wasn’t for her family and their quick-thinking actions,” he said.
“We had to put her in a coma to give her heart and brain a break and then when we tried to bring her back to life, it worked.
“You could see the relief on her family.”
Husband Michael said it was an average night at the Semmler household until his wife suddenly collapsed without warning.
“It was about 9.30pm and I was in bed but Megan wasn’t feeling well and she went downstairs for water,” he said.
“My son was watching a movie and came rushing upstairs to wake me up and said she collapsed and there was blood.
“The only CPR I knew was when I did swimming classes when I was a kid but (triple 0 operator) Shauna on the phone helped until the paramedics got to us.”
Within the first few minutes on scene, Megan was given a shock to help regain an effective heartbeat.
Despite the initial trauma, Ms Semmler said she still did not know why it even happened.
“I am incredibly thankful for my family and I wouldn’t be here if they weren’t around,” she said.
“The only thing I remember about that day is going swimming in the afternoon in our pool. But when I found out I was absolutely horrified something like that could happen to me. I’m relatively fit and healthy and I’ve never experienced anything like that before.
“It really makes me appreciate life and all the time I have with my family.”