An off-duty member of the National Ambulance Service who saved the life of a teenage girl on holidays is urging more people to learn CPR.
It was the second time in three years that Mark Lynch from Kells, Co Meath, helped to save a young person’s life through the vital first aid.
He was on a family holiday in Lanzarote in the Canary Islands in April, when 14-year old Kathryn Smiley got into difficulty in the pool.
Mark, who is an Intermediate Care Operative (ICO) with the National Ambulance Service, based in Navan, sprang into action immediately to save Kathryn, who was unresponsive when she was pulled from the water.
“I was sitting beside the pool with my children when I overheard a girl saying to her aunt that Kathryn hadn’t come back up from the bottom of the pool,” he said.
“I ran over to see what was going on.
“Someone had lifted her up from the bottom, so I pulled her from the pool onto the pavement. She had no pulse and was hypoxic which means there was no oxygen going to the brain so I started CPR straight away.
“After about four minutes of doing compressions, the water came up and she started coughing and I thought brilliant!
“I didn’t know her age, I didn’t know anything about this girl but I just know that CPR changes lives and it changed this family’s life.”
Kathryn, who is from Liverpool, was rushed to hospital and spent four days there before returning to the apartment block where she and her family sincerely thanked Mark.
“She had a big hug for me and her family were very thankful but I was just grateful for my training that I was able to help her. I always tell people to learn CPR and when abroad, go to places where there is a lifeguard.”
It’s the second time that Mark has saved a life after performing CPR on a youth at a Meath football match three years ago.
“It was before I joined the National Ambulance Service. I was working as a physical therapist with Drumbaragh GAA Club at a football match in Kilberry, outside Navan when then 21 year old Danny Battersby from Curragha went into Cardiac Arrest. Myself and the lads from Drumbaragh and Curragha worked as a team and that lad lived too.
“Everyone should know CPR. It saves lives.”
The National Ambulance Service has 240 groups of community first responders and it will hold CPR familiarisation sessions to coincide with World Restart a Heart day in October.
- Further information on CPR can be found from www.nationalambulaceservice.ie/Community and www.hse.ie/restartaheart.ie.
