First Aid Corps

Rob Farnfield, 54, of Hackney Road in Matlock, was refereeing a match at Matlock Rugby Club last November when he had a heart attack and collapsed.

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Fortunately, two off-duty nurses were watching the game and gave him valuable resuscitation (CPR) until the First Responders arrived with a defibrillator, a portable piece of life saving equipment that delivers an electric shock through the chest wall to help restore the heart’s normal rhythm.

Rob Farnfield the Survivor

He was then taken by air ambulance to the University Hospital Coventry.

Rob, who was unconscious throughout most of the ordeal, was told he was resuscitated seven times.

He said: “There were about ten minutes to go in the game when I collapsed on the pitch. There was no warning or any pain. It was as if someone had just turned the power off.”

He added: “I felt fine beforehand. I’m reasonably fit, don’t have blood pressure or the things you would associate with a heart problems

After having a stent fitted, Rob spent five days in hospital recovering before taking on cardiac rehabilitation at the Whitworth Centre in Darley Dale.

He now takes part in gym sessions especially for heart patients, at Arc Leisure Matlock and within less than a year has gone from being able to walk just a few feet to walking from Matlock to Derby.

Rob has not refereed at Matlock Rugby Club since his heart attack but has been to the club base, at Cromford Meadows, many times since and the charity has paid for a defibrillator for the club house.

The life of a spectator at a GAA match was saved at the weekend because the club had a defibrillator which was used to resuscitate the man after he collapsed.

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John Dobbins was on the sidelines watching his team Steelstown play Faughanval when it is thought he suffered a heart attack.

He is now recovering thanks to a series of “miracles” including the presence of doctors, a defibrillator and a passing ambulance.

Mr Dobbins received medical assistance from two doctors within seconds of collapsing.

They were at the match as spectators and used the club’s defibrillator to keep him alive until an ambulance arrived.

Michael Dobbins, speaking on behalf of John, paid tribute to those who saved his life, saying: “I would like to extend sincere thanks to all who came to John’s assistance when he took ill at Sunday’s game at Faughanvale.

“I would like to thank Faughanvale GAA for their quick response and action to the situation.

“A special mention must be given to Jane Carey, John and Artie Kearney, Drs Lee Casey, Dave Flanagan and Mark McCarron, who worked relentlessly with John and kept him alive until the ambulance arrived.

“Because of these people and everyone else who helped, John is in a comfortable and stable condition and making good progress.

Faughanvale club chairman, Eamonn King said every sporting facility should have this life- saving piece of medical equipment.

Mr King said: “We have had a defibrillator at our club for about five years and not every club has them yet, but if ever there was proof that this particular piece of equipment can make a difference in a life-and-death situation then this was it.

“I was on the pitch on Sunday when Mr Dobbins collapsed and the second we realised how serious the situation was, our emergency plan kicked in.

“Miraculously there were two doctors attending the match and another girl with medical training and they were able to administer CPR and, although we do have club members trained in using the defibrillator, on this occasion naturally enough it was the doctors who used it.

“By another miracle, while I was on the phone calling for an ambulance one drove past in the direction of Limavady and I asked if there was any possibility that it could be diverted if it wasn’t on a major emergency.

“Within a few short minutes the ambulance had turned around and was with us and Mr Dobbins was on his way to Altnagelvin Hospital.

“I know defibrillators are expensive. They cost about £1,000 each, but what price do you put on a life? We keep our defibrillator fully charged and easily accessible, not just when there is a match but so that it can be used by anyone.”

“If there is one at the club and it is never needed then that is great, but if you do need it and you have one available then that is even better.

“I would say Mr Dobbins’ family are glad Faughanvale GAA Club had one, but this should be the case in every single sporting facility.”

Dr Dave Flanaghan, Chairman of the Steelstown Club Brian Og’s, backed Mr King’s called for all sports facilities to have the life-saving machines.

He said: “There is no doubt in my mind that the defibrillator helped save John’s life, coupled with the efforts of the Faughanvale members who recognised the value of having trained stewards and maintained equipment.

Everyone else already was there when she walked in for roll call Wednesday evening.

Not only was Bolingbrook Officer Regalado late, one of her boots was caked with mud.

I wasn’t there, but I’m sure one of the cops teased that she’d better have a good excuse.

Seems like she did.

State police report that Regalado — whose first name is not being released — was driving her own car to work on Interstate 355 near Route 6 when a blue minivan behind her veered across the road, into a ditch and up the embankment.

Knowing something was wrong, Regalado stopped and returned to find the elderly driver slumped behind the wheel of the locked van.

She called 911 but handed the ringing phone to another man who had stopped to help and had him relay information to the emergency dispatcher as she tried to open the door.

All the doors were locked, so she told another passerby to get her riot baton from her trunk.

That man got the thrill of using police equipment to break the passenger side window while Regalado unlocked the doors.

As the two men pulled the man onto some nearby grass, the officer ran to get the CPR mouth shield from her work bag.

“The victim did not have a pulse that either she or the other man who knew CPR could feel,” reports said. “He was unconscious, unresponsive and his lips and mouth were starting to turn blue.”

They continued CPR until a state trooper arrived.

Regalado asked the trooper if he was carrying a portable defibrillator in his cruiser and told him to get it.

“At that time (I) applied the patches on the designated areas on the victim … plugged in the cord to the pads and hit the button to begin,” she reported. The device was able to steady the rhythm of the senior’s heart.

An ambulance took the victim to Silver Cross Hospital where he was listed in stable condition after suffering a heart attack, reports said.

Regalado returned to her car and drove to Bolingbrook.

“(I) contacted the sergeant’s desk to advise him of the situation and (that I) may be slightly late to work,” she said.

She’ll be written up for it.

But it’ll be a commendation.

“The department is very proud of Officer Regalado’s heroic response. It is obvious her training and experience played a great role in possibily saving this victim’s life. We commend her for her efforts,” Lt. Mike Rompa said.

Matt Collins was on his way to a business meeting when he saw a school bus drift aimlessly through the intersection of Elm Grove and Bluemound roads just after 8:30 a.m. Sept. 15.

“It appeared nobody was driving,” he said. “I got out and ran up to the bus and figured that I would jump in and stop it.”

When Collins threw open the door, however, he found the driver, a 65-year-old Milwaukee man, slumped over without a pulse and two special needs children aboard.

“I stopped the bus and threw it in park,” he said. “Another guy ran up behind me, and we pulled him out and started to administer CPR.”

An Elm Grove police officer was on the scene within minutes of receiving a 911 call, and used a defibrillator to shock the driver’s heart, Police Chief Jim Gage said.

Elm Grove paramedics arrived and took the bus driver to the Wheaton Franciscan Heart Hospital in Wauwatosa while police and bystanders stayed with the children aboard the bus.

“We just kind of tried to entertain them until someone showed up to drive the bus,” Collins said.

A relative of the victim, who has not been identified due to health privacy laws, last reported that he was still recovering in a hospital, Gage said.

“In the end, that’s all that really matters,” Collins said.

Newport Business Association (NBA) had been renovating the village’s railway station with Essex Probation Service Community Payback team at the weekend when a man in his 40s, a member of the team, fell faint and collapsed. Emergency services were called.

When talking through the incident, the operator called for the Newport Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) unit – a portable electronic device that automatically diagnoses the potentially life threatening cardiac arrhythmias – to be used.

NBA founder Jeremy Rose rushed to his car and drove to the unit situated by The Pharmacy in High Street, which was installed last year.

“I must admit I was a little stressed to get the unit out in time,” said Mr Rose, who has been trained. “I keyed in the code, which I always keep on my mobile phone, grabbed the unit and rushed back to the station platform in under five minutes.

“The man had been convulsing and having tachycardiac spasms, so deploying the AED unit was deemed vital.

“Just knowing that the unit was ready was reassuring. We were on hand, the unit was ready and used within five minutes.”

Emergency services responded quickly, with the ambulance arriving within nine minutes of the call going out.

“As anyone knows, if you have heart failure, you need to revive the heart within an eight minute window of opportunity, otherwise a person can die or receive severe brain damage,” explained Mr Rose.

“We’ve trained a seven-year-old and an 87 year-old resident to use the defibrillator. Anyone can use the unit. The fact that we got there within five minutes is hugely gratifying.”