Ann Carter, with paramedic Callum Sutton, said it is “miraculous” that she is alive
By Maisie Lillywhite
BBC News, West of England
A woman who said that her life was saved by her postman giving her CPR, feels like she has been “reborn”.
Ann Carter from, Stoke Orchard, near Cheltenham, went into cardiac arrest and lost consciousness while she was on the phone to the NHS 111 service.
Her daughter ran outside of the house to call for help and their postman, who was passing by, gave CPS until paramedics arrived.
“It’s miraculous I’m alive, really,” said Ms Carter.
She had been violently sick and felt chest pains before falling unconscious.
Ms Carter remembered calling for help and was on the phone for 12 minutes.
Her daughter had just arrived home from school when Ms Carter went into cardiac arrest.
“I’d been speaking to a paramedic on the phone and she (her daughter) picked the phone up and they told her she needed to do CPR,” Ms Carter said.
“She panicked and ran outside, our postman had been earlier to drop off a parcel and because I didn’t look well, he was checking back to see how I was.”
Ms Carter attended a recent event at Cheltenham Town Football Club, which taught people how to give CPR
Great Western Air Ambulance paramedic, Callum Sutton, said Ms Carter “wouldn’t have had the same outcome” if her postman had not helped her.
“We know that, for every minute there is no bystander CPR in cardiac arrest, there’s a 10% less chance of good neurological outcome and survival,” Mr Sutton said.
“It’s all about the chain: making that early 999 call, having a bystander do CPR.
“If that first part of the chain isn’t complete, then there’s no point in us arriving to do the things we do, so it’s incredibly important everyone learns to do CPR.”
Ms Carter was in intensive care for three days following the incident and recovered in a cardiac unit.
“On the drive home from hospital, I must have driven my daughter mad because I was saying, ‘it’s so beautiful, it’s so bright, the air smells so lovely’.
“I just felt like I had been reborn,” she said.
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