if you have ever doubted the need for an AED machine in a public area, please read the article below. An AED machine can save a life an is invaluable at a time like this.
Curraha GAA star Danny Battersby is lucky to be alive.
The 22-year-old collapsed suddenly during a game with Drumbaragh in Meath on Sunday afternoon.Thankfully a spectator had a defibrillator in his car and his team mates Neil Shorthall (23) and Liam Hogan (24) were able to revive him with the assistance of a paramedic and the two physios who were at the game.
The duo are trained first responders and acted quickly by taking turns to perform CPR as well as the defibrillator to bring Danny back.Danny has emerged from an induced coma at our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
Gavin Coyle, a team mate of Danny’s, was on the pitch when he collapsed away from the play.“Wolfe Tones had a defibrillator of their own but a spectator happened to have one in his car and he was straight on. We were just very lucky,” he told Independent.ie.
“All the news since Sunday has been very positive. He woke from the coma, he’s talking and he’s moving his arms and legs.”
We never like to read articles like this, thankfully the outcome was a good one due to the actions of Danny’s quick thinking teammates and spectators. According to the Irish Heart Foundation there are 5,000 deaths every year in Ireland from sudden cardiac arrest and 70% occur out of hospital. The Heartsaver AED training course takes four hours and in this time six people can be trained on how to deal with a situation like this and the use of the AED machine that is available. Don’t postpone this training any longer, you never know when it will save a life.
EMS & Associates can provide Irish Heart Foundation / American Heart Association AED training. We can also supply and install AED machines. Please contact our office for further information on 041-9822933.