Gary Pitfield had just taken a course in CPR when his daughter Olivia fell seriously ill at home
A 21-year-old student who was sitting at home watching TV and eating hash browns suddenly went into cardiac arrest – but was saved as her dad had done a CPR course days earlier.
Olivia Pitfield suddenlt fell ill at home in Cobham, Surrey, but dad Gary Pitfield, a 55-year-old greenkeeper, had just done a CPR refresher course with St John Ambulance. When his wife Karen came out into the garden shouting that their daughter wasn’t moving, Gary knew exactly what to do.
Gary ran in and, after checking her pulse, pulled Olivia off the chair onto the floor. While Karen rang 999, he began chest compressions, as he had been taught. “Olivia was sitting in a chair in the living room not moving,” Gary said.
“It was just a few days after my first aid refresher course, so all my training was at the forefront of my mind. Olivia had aspirated, which meant she’d breathed food into her lungs. I carried on with the CPR until the paramedic got the defibrillator and applied the pads.
“It felt like ages until the ambulance came but it was around eight minutes. My adrenalin kept me going.”
Olivia, who had no previous health conditions, began breathing again, but this was followed by a traumatic period in which she stopped and started breathing, even after paramedics used a defibrillator. Olivia also had a severe lung injury caused by aspirating on a hash brown during the cardiac arrest.
Olivia was in a coma for three weeks but, after having an internal defibrillator fitted, has made a full recovery. Looking back at her experience, Olivia, now 25, doesn’t remember much of what happened, but counts her blessings that her parents were around for the traumatic event and knew what to do.
“When I woke up in hospital, I saw my mum and dad and they told me everything that had happened,” Olivia said. “I felt sad and happy: sad they’d had to go through it all but happy that I was okay.
“After I was in hospital, I suffered a lot mentally when it came to coming back into reality. I had to go to therapy to realise that I couldn’t just jump straight back into what I was doing before because I was quite an active person.
“Watching all my friends go and carry on riding and doing stuff without me took quite a toll.”
Olivia, who now works as a stable groom at a livery yard, had to slowly build her strength back up, but feels much better today. The family want to encourage everyone to do a first aid course, as they say you never know when you may be needed to save a life.
Health charity St John Ambulance is launching Save a Life September, a nationwide campaign aiming to teach 300,000 people the essential first aid skills to help someone experiencing cardiac arrest, severe bleeding or choking. New research by the charity shows that 84 per cent say they’d do anything for their loved ones yet 42 per cent of people have never taken a first aid course.
The charity runs free demonstrations up and down the country and also offers free online guidance. “My dad’s always been on top of his first aid because of his job,” Olivia said. “It’s so important to know first aid as it can be used anywhere at any time. It’s taught me to be thankful for who’s around you.”
Gary says that learning CPR is essential, as you never know when you may need those vital skills. “Everyone should know basic CPR. It saves lives,” said Gary. “I just did what I had to do but I’ll remember every minute of it.”