Defibrillator to the rescue as fit and healthy mum's heart stops out of the blue
A mother-of-three was brought back to life after she suffered a cardiac arrest in the garden of her home.
Bryony Sahota nearly died when she suffered the same heart failure as Danish footballer Christian Eriksen in the Euros.
Bryony is aged just 33 – the same as Eriksen – and, like him, now has an under-the-skin ICD decvice that acts as an internal heart starter in the event of another collapse.
Bryony, from Bloxwich, had been out shopping for a football shirt for her two-year-old son, George, to wear for the England match and returned home to make a list of more shopping that was needed when she collapsed on June 8.
Fortunately her husband, chip shop owner Dale Sahota, aged 32, and the landlord of the nearby Saddler’s Arms, managed to carry out CPR until paramedics arrived on the scene.
The ambulance crew used a defibrillator and after 20 minutes her heart started pumping again.
She was taken to New Cross Hospital where she suffered another attack the following day and eventually underwent an operation.
Now Bryony and Dale are determined to raise awareness of CPR techniques and the need for more defibrillators in local communities.
They have managed to raise more than £3,900 through a gofundme page to buy defibrillators and to pay for CPR training for five to 11-year-old pupils at Lower Farm Primary School.
Bryony said: “As this shows this can happen to anyone and it is important that we get more defibrillators where they can be easily accessed by people.
“I was a non-smoker, only have the occasional drink, have been a vegetarian since I was a teenager and exercise so I thought I was completely healthy.
“I have no memory of the day I had a cardiac arrest and was just sitting down in the garden.
“I have not been doing anything particularly energetic and the day it happened is completely wiped from my memory.
“I cannot even remember buying the football kit.
“As what happened to Eriksen shows, these defibrillators are so important and can raise the chances of survival from barely anything to people having a fighting chance of making it alive.
“A defibrillator can restart a heart in an instant and what happened to Eriksen shows just how important they can be in saving lives. They raise the chance of survival by 10 per cent every minute the heart is restarted.
“Swift action can also reduce the risk of brain damage and memory loss.
“I think a lot of people are also frightened of doing CPR and concerned that they would not pump a chest correctly but with defibrillators people simply open the box and then follow the instructions they are given.”
Dale said: “My wife was fit and healthy and It is so important to get these life-saving machines in the local community and for people to be trained in how to use them.
“We are not certain where the machines will be installed but are hoping to buy at least two for the local area.
“When my wife suffered a cardiac arrest we were in our garden at home and her heart stopped for 30 minutes and then she suffered another attack in hospital the following day.
“Now, like Christian Eriksen, she has had an ICD fitted which will stimulate her heart if this should happen again.
“My wife was completely healthy and this came out of the blue and I really do think it is important to get these defibrillators in local communities.
“They are life-saving machines and what happened to my wife has made this seem even more important.”
To donate to the fundraiser visit the gofundme page here.
