Editorial: Learn how you can save a life

As a former ambulance officer I know how essential it is for every member of the public to learn how to do CPR.

You only have to look as far as the fascinating story we ran in our paper on Friday of Napier mother of three Haylee Wrenn and her brush with death.

Unbeknown to the 37-year-old, she suffers from a cardiac condition known as Long QT Syndrome. It is a rare condition she says affects about 1 in 7000 people.

Basically her heart has an irregular rhythm which can suddenly - and without warning - stop. Without immediate CPR and the ability to shock her heart back into a rhythm, she could die.

This was almost the case on June 24, when she took her two children, Olivia and Alex, to the doctor. While she was paying for a prescription, her heart stopped and she collapsed.

She credits the pharmacy staff and doctors for keeping her alive until a St John ambulance arrived.

Mrs Wrenn said if she had collapsed somewhere else, her family may have been holding a funeral for her.

She is now encouraging members of the public to learn CPR because you may save a life.

During my time in the ambulance service, I was always grateful when going to a cardiac arrest to see members of the public performing CPR. Some were doing it that well, it was better to get them to continue while I got the defibrillator and other equipment ready.

A common fear of people who are reluctant to learn CPR was "what if I get it wrong?" My response was always, the only thing wrong would be not trying to do something at all.

Many people say they may panic and forget how many compressions to breaths should be done. Again, the same answer applies: having some air going to the brain and other vital organs is better than none at all.

If you are interested in learning CPR, go to St John's website: stjohn.org.nz