Anna wasn't to know how true her grandad's saying would be until she had to save the life of her mum.
A typical start to the day
Every Monday morning started in the same way for Jane and her daughter, Anna. The pair typically head down to their stables shortly after 7am to look after their horses, walk their dogs and then head off to their respective workplaces.
When their alarms went off on Monday 27th November 2023, Jane and Anna were blissfully unaware of how different this Monday would be: Jane would suffer a major heart attack later in the day, with Anna performing life-saving CPR for over 20 minutes.
A strange atmosphere
That fateful morning, Anna was rushed out of bed by her mum, who appeared to be in a particularly bad mood, which Anna says is completely out of character.
‘This had never happened before, mum is the most calm, placid person who never raises her voice. But on this day, she was angry and feeling rushed against time. She was even angry on the way to the yard, shouting at me in the car for forgetting something.
Once we were at the stables, around 7:40am, I found mum leaning over the stable door complaining of stomach pains. I tried to tell her to sit down for a minute, but she was adamant she was fine to carry on.’
On the way home, Anna stopped at her Grandad’s house to visit and walk the dogs. Recalling her mum’s strange mood that morning to her grandad, he suggested that she go back and check on her.
‘As I was walking through the door at 8:54am, I got a message from mum saying ‘Are you on your way back? I’m not feeling well again’ and as I came in, for whatever reason, I took the door off the latch thinking that I should leave it open just in case anyone needed to get in.’
Jane instructed her daughter to take her blood pressure reading and text her friend, who is a doctor, to ask her what she thinks. Recalling the next few minutes, Anna said:
‘Suddenly mum was telling me she had pins and needles in her arms. And with that, she started fitting. I instantly called 999 at 9:08am and then she stopped breathing. Jane’s condition did not improve, and as soon as her body was still, Anna moved her to the floor to begin administering CPR. Anna added:
Having completed a first aid course the month before I knew what to do, but never thought I would have to put it into practice. I performed CPR for 20 minutes, completely on my own. The incredible 999 call handler kept the timings, making me count 1,2,3,4 out loud to keep the rhythm
Anna, Jane’s daughter
During this time, a land ambulance had been dispatched and was on the way to support Anna.
Help is on its way
‘We have the closest bond, not only as mother and daughter, but best friends too – I just knew I could not lose her. I could hear the sirens coming and it felt like the longest time, but knowing that I had made sure the door wasn’t locked, I didn’t leave my mum. I just kept on going with the CPR.
‘When the land ambulance crew arrived, I remember them saying, You’re doing a great job, carry on. It was at that point that I started getting emotional whilst telling them what had happened.’
The land ambulance crew applied a Defibrillator and, thankfully, were successful in restoring a normal heartbeat for Jane. At this point, Anna was able to step out of the room and contact family members for the first time. She called her brother and grandad before returning to the room, hoping to see some improvement with her mum.
‘When I walked back in, she had an oxygen mask on but there was no other response. I was told the air ambulance was on its way and my heart sank, I now knew this was serious. I remember being stood in the road and seeing these two men in red suits walking towards us. Just like in the films, it felt like they were walking down the hill in slow motion.’
DAA Doctor, Tony, explained to Anna that he was going to put her mum to sleep to protect her vital organs.
‘If it wasn’t for Devon Air Ambulance, my mum either wouldn’t be with us today, or wouldn’t have any brain function. Once she was stable enough to transport, DAA’s doctor travelled with her in the land ambulance, and we followed behind.’
A glimmer of hope
At Plymouth’s Derriford Hospital, Jane was kept in an induced coma for 3 days where she had multiple scans of her brain and heart, all of which surprisingly showed no bleeds or lasting damage.
Jane had suffered a rare kind of heart attack, known as SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) and an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
The care we received was outstanding, both for mum and for us as a family. On day 3 when nobody thought there was any sign of brain function, she squeezed my brother’s hand. It was the glimmer of hope we had all been praying for
Hours later, Jane was successfully breathing on her own with only the help of an oxygen mask. Still unaware of the extent of her brain function, Janes family and doctors were overjoyed when she removed her mask and said, ‘I love you, take me home’ to Anna. After 10 days in hospital, Jane could go home ready to spend Christmas with family.
Anna said: ‘My mum is the strongest person I know; she defied all odds and is the biggest fighter!’
‘It’s a long road ahead for her full recovery but we have our mum with us, and we will be forever grateful for that. Every day we count our lucky stars.’ Anna’s grandad always used to tell her, Tough times don’t last; tough people do, and where Anna’s lifesaving efforts are concerned, this certainly is true.
Anna did an amazing job attending to her mum while waiting for help. CPR is a skill everyone can learn. You can find out more about our Help with all your Heart training sessions we deliver in local communities across Devon by visiting our cardiac page.
