A Nanaimo mother of two survived to give thanks to her boyfriend and paramedics for saving her life.
Kathy O’Leary likely wouldn’t have survived if her boyfriend Michael Oldfield hadn’t performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her for eight minutes until B.C. Ambulance paramedics arrived the night her heart stopped after they came home from a walk Jan. 23, 2014.
O’Leary, 36, had no history of heart trouble before she suffered an electrical or arrhythmic storm, a series of unexplained successive cardiac arrests.
By the time an ambulance rushed to Victoria General Hospital – weather had grounded air ambulances – she had broken ribs from CPR chest compressions and third-degree burns to her chest and back from the defibrillator paramedics applied more than 50 times to restart or stabilize her heartbeat.
But it was Oldfield’s initial effort, following instructions over the phone from Aaron Hungar, emergency medical dispatcher, that ensured O’Leary’s survival.
At the Nanaimo North Ambulance Station Thursday, Oldfield received the B.C. Emergency Health Services Vital Link award, which recognizes the crucial role bystanders play until help arrives, and he and O’Leary thanked Hungar and paramedics Cory Saretky and Rick Hoenhous who made sure she arrived in Victoria alive.
Oldfield said Hungar and adrenaline kept him going through those eight minutes, many trained professionals can only provide physically demanding chest compressions for about two minutes, and he and O’Leary have since taken CPR training from St. John Ambulance.
“It’s definitely a life-changer, this experience, for everyone involved – friends, family – and I can’t, honestly, thank Aaron enough,” Oldfield said. “I recall the night very clearly. I won’t forget that he kept me on track and brought me back to doing what I needed to do.”
O’Leary now has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator that applies electrical shocks to control life-threatening arrhythmias in her chest.
“He’s truly a hero,” O’Leary said. “He exhibited stuff that I don’t know if I could do. He stepped up and saved my life that night and so did all these gentlemen and I feel extremely blessed and extremely grateful that I’m here, and here my kids, and that I’m living life to the fullest now.”
Hungar has talked dozens of people on emergency scenes through the CPR process.
“People who do not receive CPR prior to pre-hospital care generally have extraordinarily poor outcomes ... so it is incredibly important to get people trained and aware and then recognizing a problem exists and then acting on it quickly,” Hungar said.
