A 70-years-old Irishman, on holidays in Portugal, who got into serious difficulties in a hotel swimming pool, owes his life to the presence of mind, alertness and know-how of a 17-years-old Mullingar girl staying in the same hotel for a few days with family members, when she and her 21-years-old brother provided vital assistance in Villamoura, Portugal, battling for 20 minutes in efforts to resuscitate the elderly man, using CPR.
As the man was being rushed by ambulance to hospital, the emergency crew who took over appeared to offer little hope of recovery, but thanks to the emergency procedures which kept his heart pumping and sent air into his lungs, he was already making a good recovery the next day, and his daughter, a doctor from Dublin, acknowledged that it was the immediate attention he got and the use of CPR that saved his life.
She also felt that the CPR ‘know-how,’ which the Mullingar sister and brother had gained during their secondary education at Loreto College and Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, and their quick response with CPR until an ambulance arrived last week, had saved her father’s life, She also acknowledged that it was very valuable to have CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) taught to second level students.
Patrick and Claire Fagan and their mum, Gerrie, were on a short break at Villamoura, on the Algarve in southern Portugal last week. As another Irish person was swimming in the hotel pool, 17-years-old Claire, who had also trained as a lifeguard, noticed that the man seemed to be in some difficulty, and alerted her mother and others, as he sank in the water.
The man was hauled from the pool immediately, but had swallowed water, and appeared to have no life signs. He had no pulse and was not breathing.
Claire called her brother Patrick (21) and they turned the man over and commenced using the CPR technique in efforts to revive him.
They persisted for 20 minutes, until an ambulance and emergency services arrived and took over, and the victim was rushed to hospital. Initially, the emergency staff appeared to give the 70-years-old Irishman little hope of recovery, as they put him on life support and rushed him away, but thankfully, the man made a good recovery and we understand he was conscious the next day, talking with members of his family who had travelled from Ireland and elsewhere to be with him.
We believe that the man has continued to make a good recovery.
Topic learned that during transition year in local schools, students like Claire and Patrick Fagan received the opportunity to gain a knowledge of CPR, and it was while they were students in Loreto College and Coláiste Mhuire in Mullingar that they acquired it.
This week, while reluctant to talk about the life-saving incident, Patrick Fagan said he had helped his sister in the emergency procedure – which involves making the heart and lungs work by compressing the chest and forcing in air – and “it all came good in the end.”
He said when they did CPR, the colour began to come back into the man’s face, and Patrick agreed that probably all second level schools should provide students with the opportunity to learn how to use CPR, because no one knows “when you might need it.
