Training and CellAED® helps save a life on holiday

When father and daughter, Ken and Jess, headed off for their annual Easter holiday in a small Queensland coastal town, they weren’t expecting to help save a life. But thanks to their training, and the fact that Ken keeps his CellAED^® with him, that’s exactly what happened.

Ken has been a CPR and first aid instructor for over 30 years. His daughter Jess, a teacher and pool lifeguard, is also CPR and first aid trained, so it’s fair to say they’re both well-prepared for an emergency.

Having arrived for their holiday two days earlier than normal, Jess’s husband was out taking his two daughters late-night exploring with torches, while Ken and Jess were sitting near the camp kitchen chatting.

Jess pointed out the park’s automated external defibrillator (AED), which was locked in the office. ‘That’s not much help if something happens outside of office hours,’ she said. Ken replied, ‘It’s all good, I’ve got one in the car.’

They didn’t know it yet, but they’d need it within minutes.

From relaxation to resuscitation

As Jess and Ken continued chatting, a message lit up on Jess’s phone. It was from her husband, ‘You and your dad need to get over here, there’s a man unconscious on the ground.’

They immediately sprang into action. Jess sprinted toward the scene. Ken headed straight for the car to grab his CellAED^®.

Jess arrived at the scene, where bystanders stood frozen. Despite emergency services being on the line and giving instructions, no one had started CPR.

Jess didn’t hesitate. The man was unconscious, unresponsive, and not breathing. She told the emergency operator she was starting CPR and directed bystanders to open the gate and wait for paramedics as she began chest compressions.

Minutes later, Ken returned with his CellAED^®. Seeing Jess already performing CPR, he applied his defibrillator immediately. After it delivered the first shock, Ken began CPR when directed by the voice prompts from his CellAED^®. A second shock followed. As the device prepared to deliver a third, paramedics arrived.

After 10 minutes of performing CPR, Ken and Jess were grateful the paramedics were there to take over. One paramedic looked at Jess and Ken and said, ‘Wow, that’s amazing.’

The paramedics had never seen a defibrillator like CellAED^® before. They were surprised they didn’t need to press a button to deliver the shock and even more impressed at how Jess and Ken had handled the emergency.

After CellAED^® delivered its third shock, the paramedics removed it and replaced it with their manual defibrillator to give them more control over treatment. Their defibrillator delivered three more shocks, and they supplied oxygen, adrenaline, and advanced airway management.

Then … a flicker of life. Colour returned to the man’s face. He had a pulse.

Because Jess and Ken acted fast, with training, confidence, and a defibrillator, a man who had no heartbeat just minutes earlier now had a fighting chance, and on last report from the hospital, he was doing well.

Any CPR is better than no CPR

For Jess, it was her first real-world CPR response. ‘In an emergency, you fall back on your training,’ she said. ‘If you don’t have training, you’ve got nothing to fall back on. You just freeze.’

Ken, who has performed CPR before, was impressed by how intuitive the CellAED^® was. ‘I always believed it would work. But it was even easier to use than the AEDs we train with. The shock seemed stronger, and the design makes it so quick to apply.’

The difference, they both agreed, was education. No one else at the scene had CPR training. ‘They didn’t know what to do,’ Jess said. ‘They wanted to help, but they couldn’t. The son was distraught. He raised the alarm, but he couldn’t help his dad. That’s what stuck with me. If that was my dad, I’d want someone to do something.’

A locked AED is no AED

As Jess pointed out, the park’s AED was locked inside the office. After hours, it could only be accessed by contacting the park manager, who was offsite at the time and arrived just as the paramedics did.

‘If we hadn’t had the CellAED^®, all we could have done was CPR,’ Jess said.

Be prepared. Be the difference

Ken and Jess’s message is simple: CPR and AED training saves lives. ‘You never think it’ll happen to you,’ Ken said. ‘But if it does, you want to be the person who knows what to do.’

Jess agreed and added, ‘It’s about accessibility too. In those first few minutes, you need to have the right tools to respond.’

Sudden cardiac arrest doesn’t wait for the right time or place. It can happen to anyone, anywhere. In those first few minutes, your response can be the difference between life and death.

If you don’t know how to do CPR, or need a refresher, take a first aid course to make sure you’re prepared for emergencies.