Jeanne thanks the quick-thinking crew who kept her alive

Nobody understands the importance of knowing CPR skills more than Jeanne Reilly, who had a cardiac arrest in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. She said that the collective efforts of her friend, three members of the public and the ambulance emergency responders who arrived within minutes saved her life. Jeanne, from Berkshire, said the assistance she received highlighted the importance of the Chain of Survival - recognising there was a problem, doing CPR, quick defibrillation, and getting access to specialised care– in the event of an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest.

Jeanne says: “Thank you to the ambulance crew who helped save my life when I collapsed early afternoon at The Botanics. I was given CPR and a defibrillator was used prior to the crew arriving. They arrived very quickly and then took me to Edinburgh Infirmary, giving me another shock in the ambulance.

“I am one of the lucky ones. Had it not been for the quick thinking of my friend, who broke my fall and called for help, the two individuals who administered CPR, the person who used the defibrillator to administer two shocks and the young person who called the ambulance, I would not be getting back to enjoying life. The expertise of the ambulance paramedics kept me alive while I made the journey to the Edinburgh Infirmary and the medical team in ICU took over from there.”

Following the emergency call being received by Lindsey Brady, of the West Ambulance Control Centre (ACC) in Glasgow, Aidan Colliar and Audrey Michie, of the East ACC in Edinburgh, dispatched Nickie Crowe, on a Paramedic Response Unit, and ambulance crew Ian Harwood and Ricky Moffat, of Dalkeith Station. They arrived within two minutes of the Scottish Ambulance Service receiving the call and Jeanne was transported to hospital and “kept alive” in the ambulance on the way to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Jeanne has now called on others to learn vital CPR skills and learn about defibrillators for this year’s Restart a Heart Day, highlighting the importance in early intervention. She says: “I hope that more people are educated about where to find a defibrillator and how to use one, so that the percentage of those who survive a cardiac arrest out of hospital can increase.”