Mullingar man Kenny Maleady is being hailed a hero after he saved the life of a woman who collapsed during Monday’s Dublin City Marathon.
In an amazing twist of fate, the woman who fell seriously ill during the race is also from Mullingar. A mother of four, Mary Fagan had met and spoken with Kenny earlier in the marathon. He had stopped to stretch at around the 20-mile mark and it was after he took off again that he came across a woman in difficulty.
There were people trying to come to her aid, but Kenny, who works in emergency cardiology at James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Dublin, immediately recognised the woman as Mary Fagan and realised she was in danger. He administered mouth to mouth resuscitation while another first aid person applied C.P.R. (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation). A defibrillator was applied and it was discovered Mary still had no heart beat; C.P.R continued and thankfully she started breathing once again.
“It was a complete miracle the way it played out,” said Kenny, when speaking to Topic on Tuesday.
“I was running in the marathon with my brother, David and James Brady. I was due to start 10 minutes before I did, but waited for both guys. Had a security guard not stopped us, we would have been gone,” he recalled.
DIFFICULTY
“After a while I ran ahead on my own and then met up with Mary’s husband, Alan Leech, whom I knew from my football days with St Loman’s, Mullingar. I hadn’t met him in years, so we talked for a while. When I ran on again, I met Mary and we chatted for some time before I ran on,” he explained.
It was because Kenny, who was running his fourth Dublin City Marathon, had then stopped for some stretching that Mary actually passed him and shortly after, got into difficulty.
“I hadn’t realised she had passed me, but when I was running on around a corner, I noticed a woman lying on the ground. I realised who it was and went over; she wasn’t breathing and had no heart beat,” he recalled.
IMPORTANT
Kenny’s professional background meant he immediately spotted the warning signs and after Mary was revived, he was able to recognise that she required further medical assistance.
“There was a paramedic there and I was able to get a drip into her arm and put up fluids. I also knew she needed airway management and waited until an ambulance came and took her to hospital. After that, I just finished the race and came home,” he said, modestly.
Thankfully, Mary made a full recovery and was sitting out on Tuesday, we understand.
“She’s a bit confused, but apart from that, she’s fine, thank God,” said Kenny.
The amazing story illustrates what can actually happen during one of the biggest sporting events in the country. It is an all too common occurrence and the value of knowing basic first aid is crucial.
“It was basic C.P.R. that proved so crucial and kept Mary alive in this case. I had the extra knowledge, but basic life support is so important in sport. I’m used to seeing this kind of stuff and recognised the dangers,” he said.
After such an eventful day at the 36th running of the Dublin City Marathon, Kenny now plans to complete the race for a fifth time before retiring.
“The hips and legs are not what they used to be. I’ll do one more and leave it at that!” he smiled.