Daisy Devane was glad she had taught her partner first aid when she suffered a cardiac arrest at home.
Boyfriend Eammon rushed downstairs when he heard a noise and found her unconscious on the sofa. He remembered how to do chest compressions to keep her blood pumping as they waited for an ambulance.
But the real twist came when paramedics arrived – and one of them also collapsed with a heart attack. Torn between two patients, half of the ambulance team worked on Daisy while the other half saved senior medical technician Jeremy Williams.
Daisy said: “You couldn’t make it up! Eammon’s a hero, I’ll never repay him. For those 12 minutes while he gave me CPR, he was my life support machine.”
Eammon, 33, said: “I could hear strange noises. It was Daisy gasping for air. I had to pick her up and put her on the floor. I was full of adrenaline, it was all a bit of a whirlwind.”
Strictly star Saffron Barker's brother in hospital after 'major heart attack'
Their amazing story is being told for the first time to spur more people to learn CPR. Both medical incidents came out of the blue on June 22, 2022 – with Daisy having no underlying health issues or family history of heart trouble.
Daisy and Eammon have got married since the incident (Katheryn Croft / SWNS)Last month, she and Eammon were reunited with Jeremy and they reminisced about one of the East of England Ambulance Service’s most unusual emergencies.
Jeremy, 55, said: “I was operating the machine that controls the shock. I was doing the timing and every two minutes doing a rhythm check. I was on the scene for 10 minutes when I suddenly didn’t feel well. My pain score went from zero to four in an instant. I thought, ‘I need to get out’.”
He was fitted with two stents in hospital and came home two days later to the news that Daisy had also survived. She spent 33 days in hospital and was fitted with an implantable defibrillator called an S-ICD, which shocks her heart if she suffers a repeat.
Daisy said: “I remember being very confused. I kept asking where my partner was and being told he was at home. I was in a lot of pain but everyone was very kind to me. I had wonderful care and I’m very grateful to everybody.
“Jeremy and the rest of the crew saved my life. They are so incredible. They were working on me for 50 minutes. I had five shocks before they were able to resuscitate me. It was wonderful to meet Jeremy again. It was nice to sit down and talk to him as we shared this massive life event.”
Daisy, an area safety manager who teaches first aid, was working from home in Stewartby, Beds, when she collapsed. Luckily, her other half, a Tesco manager, was off sick that day with Covid. Even more luckily, not only had Daisy taught him CPR but his bosses had also sent him on a first aid course.
Jeremy reunited with Daisy and Eammon (SWNS)Eammon said: “I’d never had to use what I’d learned. I called 999 and did what anyone would do. I was very lucky I had done the course. It’s really important to know CPR.”
Since then, the couple, who met in 2014, have married. Daisy said: “We got married in July 2023 and it was a very emotional day. Everyone was happy to see us finally get married. I’ve been trying to live life as normal and I know I’ve got the S-ICD to protect me.”
Daisy is a fervent supporter of the British Heart Foundation and is keen to promote the importance of learning CPR. She said: “It’s a skill everybody should have. You can practise at home on pillows. There are YouTube videos you can watch.
Buffalo Bills issue update after Damar Hamlin collapsed during NFL clash
“The vast majority of cardiac arrests happen at home and you or your loved ones are the ones responding. So, if you do find yourself in an emergency situation, you’ll be very grateful to have it.”
British Heart Foundation chief executive Dr Charmaine Griffiths said: “With around twice as many people living with heart and circulatory diseases than with Alzheimer’s and cancer combined, we need to fund more lifesaving research to fight heart conditions like cardiac arrest.”
- To find out more about CPR, visit bhf.org.uk
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
