CPR | Nurse uses CPR to save passenger’s life on cruise

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CPR Nurse uses CPR to save passengers
life on cruiseBy Gina Mayfield
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Their week-long cruise had returned to port the
night before, and with the ship safely docked in
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Mark and Diane Jones
had slept in knowing that their disembarkation
time was still hours away. But just as the
Joneses started to rouse, they heard a loud thump
next door. Next thing I know, I hear a lady
screaming at the top of her lungs in the
hallway, Diane recalls. She was really, really
screaming. Still in her nightgown, Diane ran
out the door and found a small crowd gathered
outside Andy and Michelle Katons room. Inside,
Andy had collapsed against the bathroom door.
Mark, who had closely followed Diane, had to pull
Andy away from the door and flip him over. Thats
when Diane realized he was extremely diaphoretic
and cyanotic. Those are the words an RN who
spent a good part of her 38-year career in
critical care uses to describe someone who is
sweating profusely and turning blue.
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Get me an AED unit, call 911, get me some help
here, Diane said to the crowd while supporting
Andys airway and constantly checking his pulse
until there wasnt one. She started Hands-Only
CPR and waited for an AED unit. When it finally
arrived, they shocked Andy once and his pulse
returned to normal. He eventually started
breathing on his own, and they transported him to
a local hospital. Then it was time for Diane and
Mark to go downstairs and have breakfast. When
they met their friends, the conversation started
with, You guys arent going to believe what
happened . What a morning it had been. Turns
out, Andy had a widow maker heart attack, which
is almost always fatal without emergency care.
Youre only alive because of your next door
neighbors actions, the cardiologist told Andy.
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Turns out this was the second time Diane used CPR
to save a life outside of the hospital, the first
time being at a college football game. I tell
people, I dont leave home without her, Mark
says with a laugh. Since the rescue, the Joneses
and Katons, who had never met before this
incident, have gotten to know each other and
planned on being together to mark the one-year
anniversary of Andys survival in March 2020,
then COVID-19 got in the way. Still, their bond
is strong.
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Its like we have a new family, Mark says.
Theyre very, very good people. They call me
their hero, Diane says. They always say they
know Andy survived because of what I did. It was
real rewarding to know that I saved his life. He
was only 49 years old and had three children at
home. Theyve all reached out to me to say,
Thank you for saving my dad. Learn more
about CPR. Bergenfield, NJ, Jersey City, NJ,
Livingston, NJ, and Queens, New York and
Gainesville, FL. Source https//cprblog.heart.or
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