THIS is the terrifying 999 call that a wife panickedly made after she was afraid her superfit husband would be dead next to her.
Jennifer Dunne, 40 years old, woke to Geraint making odd noises which she assumed were his snoring.
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She panicked when she didn’t hear back from him and realized that he had died.
She called the Welsh Ambulance Service, explaining that she had just returned from the loo and was afraid he was dead. “doing nothing”.
This heart-stopping call was released by the service as part of a campaign that educates people about CPR.
It shows a scared Jennifer saying, “My husband, I don’t believe he’s alive.”
“I believe he’s dead next to me. I woke up, and he is making a lot of funny noises.
“And then I went to the bathroom, I came back but he has absolutely no response.
“I don’t think he’s breathing, he’s not doing anything.”
The cyclist had experienced a sudden cardiac arrest while he was asleep.
The call handler immediately told her to pull the patient off the bed and perform CPR until the ambulance arrived.
Gwen, the daughter of the couple, slept in another room while paramedics applied a defibrillator fifteen times to restart Geraint.
He was rescued from the brink and rushed to hospital. He spent a month in recovery.
Geraint said: “There are no words to say how grateful I am – not just to Jen for the CPR, but to the call handler, the ambulance crew, everyone.
“Thanks to them, I have a second chance at life.”
Signs and symptoms of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest doesn’t mean the same thing as heart attack.
This is when your heart stops pumping suddenly. If you don’t seek medical help within minutes, you may die. It is estimated that 100,000 people die each year in the UK every year, according to the BHF.
Sudden cardiac arrest can occur quickly and without warning.
On the other hand, a heart attack occurs when blood flow to your heart is reduced.
If someone is experiencing cardiac arrest:
- They won’t even be aware
- They won’t be responsive
- They won’t breathe or be breathing normally.
There are a few signs that heart attacks may present, including:
- Pressure, pain, or tightness in your chest or arms
- nausea
- Cold sweat
- Fatigue
- sudden dizziness
The Cardiff couple had been watching Love Island before going to bed, but in the early hours of the morning Jennifer was woken up.
She said: “I woke up to the sound of Geraint snoring, which he does now and again, so I didn’t think much of it.
“I tried to rouse him but couldn’t so just assumed he was in a deep sleep.
“It was only when I nipped to the loo and came back into the room did I realise that something was seriously wrong. That’s when I called 999.”
Call handler Stephen Meaker who picked up Jennifer’s call, saying: “As soon as Jennifer said she thought her husband had died, I knew instantly that I’d be talking her through CPR.
“She was absolutely brilliant and so calm.”
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Paramedic Corey Mead (based in Blackweir) and Emergency Medical Technician Jo Sherrin (based in Blackweir) were the first to arrive at this property.
Corey said: “It’s very rare that a 39-year-old has a cardiac arrest, so when we got allocated the call, we knew it was serious.
“We worked on him for about an hour and 40 minutes all told.
“I think lady luck played a huge part – if Geraint’s wife had not woken up in the first place, it’d be a completely different story.”
Adults receive CPR
Only for hands CPR
- Place your heel on the breastbone in the middle of the person’s chest. Place the heel of your other hand on top and lock your fingers.
- Place your shoulders high above your hands.
- Use your body weight (not your arms) to press your chest down to 5 to 6 cm (2 to 2.5 inches).
- Keep your hands on their chests and release the compression. The chest will return to its original position.
- These compressions should be repeated at a rate between 100 and 120 times per minute until you are taken to an ambulance or become tired.
Rescue breaths and CPR
- Place your heel on the middle of the person’s chest. Then, place the other half of your hand on top. Continue to press down at a steady 100 to 120 compressions per min.
- Give 2 rescue breaths after every 30 chest compressions.
- Move the victim gently by tilting his head. Next, lift his chin with 2 fingers. Pin the nose of the victim. Place your hand over the mouth of the person and continue to blow for approximately 1 second. Make sure their chest rises. Give 2 rescue breaths.
- Continue to do 30 chest compressions, 2 rescue breaths, until they feel better or are taken to hospital.
Doctors suspect it was myocarditis which led to Geraint’s cardiac arrest in mid-August, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle caused by a virus.
Since then, he has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter alarmator (ICD), which sends electric pulses to regulate irregular heart rhythms.
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