When Adam Day was just 13 he was stabbed in the chest. His life was saved by paramedics who rushed to his rescue and now years later he’s been able to be a lifesaver himself when a fellow gymgoer collapsed in front of him while working out.
Adam, 27, gave the stranger effective chest compressions that kept blood pumping round his body until paramedics arrived. Adam was taught CPR and how to use a defibrillator by London Ambulance Service just weeks before.
Adam said: “The training came back to me and I was focused on doing all I could to help this person. I do have this background of trauma and it has been difficult to deal with, but it has left me with a profound respect for emergency responders. It has also given me a drive to help people.”
London Ambulance Service launched the London Lifesavers Campaign to improve cardiac arrest survival rates in the capital. Adam, who’s now 27, was offered the training at the bank where he works as an analyst.
He said: “Knowing what to do in a life-threatening situation feels really but the training gives you the confidence and the muscle memory to know what to do. There was a defibrillator in the gym that the gym staff used and those machines are excellent.
“They talk to you so you know what to do at each step. In the moment, you just go through the steps. But reflecting on what we did is emotional, knowing that we helped save a life is a profound feeling.”
London Ambulance Service responds to around 12,000 patients in cardiac arrest a year. Fewer than one in 10 survive. But early chest compressions and a shock from a defibrillator can more than double a person’s chances of survival.
Samantha Palfreyman-Jones, Head of First Responders at London Ambulance Service, said: “You never know when you might need these skills and for Adam that moment came just a few months after his training. Would you know what to do if someone collapsed in cardiac arrest in front of you?
“What if it was someone you knew or someone you loved? These skills can be learned in a few minutes but they could change someone’s life forever.”
London Ambulance Service runs regular free pop up training events across the capital. The next one is on 29 June at the Park Royal Fire Station in north west London. All upcoming events are listed here.
Looking for more from MyLondon? Subscribe to our daily newsletters here for the latest and greatest updates from across London.
