IMOGEN Donaghy, the woman whose life was saved by a quick-thinking brickie doing CPR, has met the paramedics who responded to the emergency call.
After brickie Adrian Rowe spent 16 minutes resuscitating Ms Donaghy, she was in cardiac arrest for further 29 minutes while five paramedics treated her.
Extended care paramedic Tim Noonan said it was very rewarding to meet up with Ms Donaghy and Mr Rowe after everything they had experienced.
“It’s extremely humbling,” he said. “It makes us realise why we do what we do.”
Mr Rowe happened to be in the Cleveland bottle shop where Ms Donaghy was working when she collapsed to the ground.
He thought it was a seizure and went over to her, but found her dead.
Having done a refresher cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) course two days previously, he immediately started CPR.
She was resuscitated 11 times by Mr Rowe and the paramedics before being transported to hospital.
Medical tests later found that Ms Donaghy has a rare heart condition.
Mr Noonan said it was uncommon for a young person to go into cardiac arrest and that Mr Rowe’s response had made a big difference for the paramedics.
“Without it, it would have been really difficult to get the result that we got.”
Mr Noonan said it was reason for celebration to get a heart beating and it was great to hear that someone survived getting to hospital.
“But then to have them walk out of hospital, we call that a true survival.
“And then to actually meet the person that’s pretty cool,” the paramedic said.
Advanced care paramedic Pascale Giroul had been on the job for about two weeks when she was called to respond to Ms Donaghy.
“She’s 26 years old and it’s such a good outcome,” she said.
“She’s walking and breathing and she’s going to live her life. It makes the job rewarding.”
Ms Donaghy is still on the mend having broken ribs and her sternum during CPR and having surgery to insert a defibrillator to shock her if her heart fails again.
