Weedon fundraiser's actions helped save man's life

A woman who was trained in CPR by the British Red Cross put her skills to use when a man she was signing up to help the charity collapsed.
Sarah ThomasSarah Thomas
Sarah Thomas

Sarah Thomas, from Weedon, works as a face-to-face charity fundraiser, visiting people’s homes to sign them up to support good causes.

As she was signing up one man he suddenly collapsed and had no pulse.

Sarah jumped into action, using the training she had received from the charity she was now fundraising for.

Sarah said: “I started the job on Halloween. We go door to door asking people if they want to support a charity.

“A couple of weeks later I was in Leicestershire raising money for the British Red Cross for.

“I was in this man’s house, we were going through the paperwork.

“We got about halfway through the form and he slumped over in his chair.

“I walked over to see if he was OK, because I didn’t know what had happened. He had no pulse.

“I pulled him out the chair and put him in the recovery position on the ground and then called 999. They asked if I was first aid trained, which I am, and asked me to do CPR until someone arrived.”

Sarah had to do CPR on the man for 12 minutes.

She said: “The ambulance arrived and by then his heart had started again.

“The paramedics spent time making sure he had stabilised enough to be able to travel to the hospital in the ambulance.”

The following day Sarah got a phone call saying the man had undergone an operation and was doing well.

Sarah said: “After the ambulance left, I realised I was somewhere I didn’t know, on my own. I wasn’t particularly shaken up by it but I called my supervisor who came out to get me.

“I was OK until I went out to work the next day and I was really sore – CPR takes a lot of effort to do but at the time you have an adrenaline rush.

“As a child there was a group in Daventry that used to meet at the youth club I went to and they taught first aid and CPR.

“Since then I’ve had a thing about keeping up to date with the training. Anytime training has been offered at work or other places I’ve signed up.

“It is definitely something I was encourage others to do as well.

“You don’t know when you will need to use it, and you don’t know if you’ll be the only person there.

“It is so rewarding helping people in this way and potentially saving someone’s life.

“If I wasn’t there, or I hadn’t been able to do CPR the outcome for the man might have been different.

“I’m proud to have helped save someone’s life, and it was all worth it.”