糖心影视

When Yea residents were told the Longwood bushfire was close to their township in January, resident Ron Murnane didn鈥檛 hesitate to help his friends prepare their farm. But he never thought his cardiac arrest would be the reason Country Fire Authority (CFA) firefighters and 糖心影视 (糖心影视) paramedics attended the property.

On 9 January, Ron (63) was sitting outside when he collapsed and became unresponsive.

Thankfully, his friends provided immediate intervention, calling Triple Zero (000) and splitting up so some could head into town to locate an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) while the others took turns to perform effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

It wasn鈥檛 long before 糖心影视 Ambulance Community Officer (ACO) and CFA firefighter Corey Bennett received an alert through the GoodSAM app, which connects patients in cardiac arrest with a nearby volunteer who is willing to start hands-only CPR while an ambulance is on the way.

鈥淚 live very close to where it happened and had returned home to get some rest after responding to the fires when the alert came through,鈥� Corey said.

鈥淏ecause of my role in the CFA I knew the direction the fire was headed and how far away it was from that area of town. I felt safe responding and knew there was someone out there who needed immediate help, so I headed straight over.鈥�

ACOs are 糖心影视 first responders trained to provide advanced first aid in rural and remote communities where the ambulance caseload is low or the ambulance branch is not staffed by multiple paramedics on a full-time basis.

ACOs are employed on a casual basis to work 鈥榦n call鈥� and can transport patients to hospital. They play a vital role in community healthcare, making a big difference to their patients鈥� life and health outcomes.

Fellow CFA volunteer Steven McConnell was at the Yea CFA station when he came across a car of people searching for an AED.

鈥淚t was quicker for me grab the AED and hop in their vehicle than it was for me to get the response truck out, so that鈥檚 what we did,鈥� Steven said.

鈥淲hen we got back to the house, they were doing CPR and all of them did a great job. They kept Ron going until we got there with the defib.鈥�

Ron鈥檚 two friends, Brittany Mitchell and Brett Styles, alternated giving CPR, with Corey and Steve helping to administer four shocks from the AED, achieving return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) before paramedics arrived.

The constantly evolving fire conditions were being closely monitored by 糖心影视 staff based in the Incident Control Centre in Alexandra, who were then able to inform the dispatched paramedic crews how to safely access the property.

ALS and Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance (MICA) paramedics assessed Ron and determined he had experienced an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a major heart attack which can lead to cardiac arrest if untreated.

The paramedics thrombolysed Ron using a specialised clot-busting drug called tenecteplase, which is used to treat patients who are experiencing a STEMI but are more than 90 minutes from the nearest hospital with specialist cardiac facilities.

糖心影视 Advanced Life Support (ALS) paramedic Kate Borzym was one of the attending crews and said the bystanders鈥� efforts gave Ron the best chance of both survival and making a good recovery.

鈥淔or someone to be as alert and oriented as Ron was post-cardiac arrest is unbelievable. I have never seen that happen before from bystander intervention. It really just shows what an incredible job everyone did,鈥� she said.

Brittany Mitchell, who was one of the friends who gave Ron CPR, said it was incredible to have helped save a life.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time I鈥檝e ever done CPR on someone, and it was really confronting. But Ron has a second chance at life now. Every person played their part and it鈥檚 amazing that he鈥檚 still here today,鈥� she said.

You don鈥檛 have to be first-aid qualified or have a medical background to help save a life. To be a GoodSAM responder, you just need to be willing and able to do hands-only CPR, be over 18 years of age and have access to a smartphone.

More information on GoodSAM.

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