A swimmer's heart stopped in the middle of the race but was saved by skilled personnel through CPR

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A swimmer's heart stopped in the middle of the
race but was saved by skilled personnel through
CPR
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he American Heart Association promotes CPR
training to more people in the community to
respond to cardiac emergencies and reduce cardiac
arrest-related deaths. Ashley Dumais is the
person to inquire if you've been watching the
Olympic swimming competitions and are wondering
why lifeguards are stationed around a pool with
so many skilled swimmers. In one of the swim
meets, one of the swimmer's heart stopped in the
middle of the race. The day started off for the
then-18-year-old as it did so many other days
when she had a swim meet. Early rise, travel to a
meet, then swim. About an hour from her home in
Hudson, the state swimming competition was held
at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
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Ashley started to sink to the bottom of the pool
as she completed her lap in the 50-meter
freestyle, which is generally her best event. The
next swimmer to come off the block was what
everyone was paying attention to instead of
Ashley. Ashley had suffered a cardiac arrest
without the timer, the coach, or anyone else in
the crowd is aware of it. The crowd quickly
became aware and agitated, shouting and pointing.
Rich Spear, the timer, dove in, but he was unable
to lift her to the surface. Sean McLaughlin, the
swim instructor at Alvirne High, hurried to the
pool deck. McLaughlin pulled as Spear pushed. She
was rescued. Ashley was becoming blue and had no
pulse.
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Ashley's mother, Bonnie, refers to this group of
professionals as the "dream team," and they just
so happened to be there among the parents at the
meet. They started CPR. The automatic external
defibrillator, which was located in another
hallway and not by the pool, was retrieved by a
UNH student. Bonnie received a call. They
informed her that Ashley had passed out. She was
then informed by the high school administration
that Ashley had suffered a cardiac arrest. She
hurried to get into her car with her husband,
Randy, and drive the hour to Durham. Ashley, in
the meantime, was taken to a facility in Exeter
and then promptly flown to Massachusetts General
Hospital, where medical professionals employed
therapeutic hypothermia to safeguard her organs
and reduce the possibility of brain damage.
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When Ashley opened her eyes, she scanned the
space, trying to make sense of what was going
on. The breathing tube was taken out by the
nurses. Ashley's parents inquired about her
whereabouts the following day, to which she
playfully retorted, "Yeah, because I'm a really
lousy swimmer." Ashley may have a condition
known as long QT syndrome, which alters the
electrical activity of the heart and is
frequently inherited. She had a defibrillator
inserted by doctors to control her cardiac
rhythm, and she has been fine ever since. Ashley
had never missed a day of school in her entire
academic career, but that particular week she had
to. She informed her mother that she would have
to return to the swim team immediately on the way
home from the hospital. They were meeting up, she
wished to visit.
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The swimmers flocked to her with hugs and tears,
all of whom had inscribed Ashley's name on their
arms in her tribute. The emotional outburst, she
remarked, "I had not expected that." Or did the
family anticipate receiving a sizable donation?
Bonnie was informed by Principal Steven Beals
that the faculty and students had raised almost
1,000, but the family didn't need it. Everything
had been covered by insurance. They devised a
strategy with the assistance of the principal
What if they invested the funds in AEDs for the
school? New Hampshire is one of several states
that does not require AEDs in all schools.
Nevertheless, according to Bill Wood, the
director of procurement for New Hampshire
schools, every public school has at least one.
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The Dumais family then performed one more act of
generosity. Every single kid at the school
received CPR instruction on April 21 during a CPR
training session. Ashley received her diploma in
June, and Husson University will shortly welcome
her. What is Ashley doing for the summer, though,
in the interim? She is working as a lifeguard
and swim instructor for the nearby YMCA and knows
what it means to have one's life saved.