A woman who was in cardiac arrest was saved by police officers working alongside a paramedic on Tuesday (July 19).
The woman, aged in her 50s, had been diagnosed with cancer two weeks earlier, when she collapsed at her home in Willow Way around 8am.
The paramedic was unable to get into the house so Neighbourhood Sergeant Noel Buckley borrowed a ladder from a neighbour and climbed in through an upstairs window.
“The woman had turned purple and had probably been like that for 10 minutes, so at a critical stage,” said Sgt Buckley, who assisted the paramedic in resuscitating her. He spent about 20 minutes carrying out CPR whilst the paramedic administered the drugs. Together, they brought the lady back to life but tragically, she died 12 hours later in hospital.
She had seven children. One of her daughters, Kayleay, said: “I really appreciate all the effort the police officers went to save Mum. They brought her back to life and gave us an opportunity to say goodbye. I can’t thank them enough.” Some of her children don’t live locally so were able to get back in time to say their goodbyes.
Sgt Buckley said: “It was a very difficult job as we didn’t have much space to carry out CPR and the only training I’d had using CPR was on a dummy, but adrenalin took over and I stayed focused, doing what I’ve been trained to do – save lives. It was the best feeling ever to bring someone back from death. It was the best news to pass on to her family, who were waiting downstairs, with PC Jemma Farmer. I was very sad to hear that she had later passed away in hospital.”
PC Farmer was gathering vital information about the poorly woman’s medical history and recent diagnosis while trying to keep the family members calm under such difficult circumstances.