CPR training call from wife who saved husband
Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) in the UK assisted in saving a patient who was brought back to life by his wife’s CPR skills.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance (YAA) in the UK assisted in saving a patient who was brought back to life by his wife’s CPR skills.
Jovan Bjelan was doing some DIY in his house when he collapsed. His wife Carolyn was able to use the emergency first aid training that she had received a month earlier to resuscitate her husband.
“When I realised she wasn’t breathing there were a few seconds when I panicked and thought I can’t do this, but then the training kicked in and I knew I had to act quickly,” said Carolyn. “I started the CPR and rang the [ground ambulance service], putting them on speaker phone. I knew time was so important as the longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the greater the chance of brain injury.”
Carolyn kept giving her husband CPR till the emergency services. Her training meant that Jovan was saved. Yorkshire Air Ambulance then flew him to Leeds General Infirmary.
The experience has spurred the Bjelan’s on to campaign for more people to be taught first aid training. “I do feel really strongly that CPR training should be much more widely taught in workplaces, in the community and in every school. We need to raise more awareness about the importance of having these skills,” said Carolyn.
Yorkshire Air Ambulance agree that more people need to be shown these skills. Abby McClymont, YAA’s director of marketing and communications, said: “Carolyn did an incredible job in a situation none of us would want to find ourselves in. This shows the true value of people completing and keeping up to date with CPR training and even basic first aid.”