Hero in a Speedo saves life
A new defribulator helped Marine lifeguards save a cyclist's life.
WHEN Marine Surf Lifesaving Club stalwart Deon Woodley started campaigning for the acquisition of a heart defribulator machine, little did he know that the hi-tech machine would be responsible for saving a cyclist’s life soon after it arrived at the club at Addington Beach.
On Friday, 7 June, Marine SLC education and training officer Woodley was alerted to an elderly cyclist lying motionless with a suspected heart attack on the promenade in front of the Marine SLC clubhouse.
Woodley joined a group of Marine duty lifeguards including Zak Fourie, Wise Mvubu, Thobani Nhlangano and Mdu Ngadi who were attending to the man, who at that stage was unresponsive, was not breathing and had no apparent pulse. After running basic first responder checks Woodley made use of the new Automatic Electronic Defribulator (AED) that he had campaigned for sponsorship to purchase a few months before.
The lifeguards were able to restore the man’s pulse and breathing and performed CPR and administered oxygen until Life Response ambulances arrived to take control of the situation.
ALSO READ: Unbeaten Marine SLC reflects on a decade of successes
“This was the first time we have been able to use the AED machine and it made a huge difference. This is a piece of equipment that every lifesaving station should have, whether it is a professional club or a voluntary club,”said Woodley.
Members of the club had contributed towards the purchase of the machine, but it was a donation from Logan Naidoo of the Capital Hospital Group that made the purchase of the expensive machine possible.
“The state-of-the-art and costly machine almost certainly saved the patient’s life.The Capital Hospital Group and all of those club members that contributed towards the machine, can be very proud to have directly played a part in saving a person’s life. Not all hero’s wear capes, some wear Speedos,” said Marine SLC club manager Russell Sadler.
Do you want to receive news alerts on this and many other stories relevant to the Durban area via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail WhatsApp number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts
