A mother from North Lincolnshire will be celebrating her birthday ‘Pacemaker’ style after she survived a cardiac arrest earlier this year during the heavy snowfall.
Sharon Newton, 54, from Brigg, suffered a cardiac arrest at home in the early hours of 1 March.
Due to deep snow across the area, ambulance crews had to battle to reach her to save her life, and even had to abandon one ambulance and get a ride on a tractor with a local farmer.
Sharon and her husband Robert have been reunited with our ambulance crews and the tractor company staff who saved her life, and she said she would not be here today without the quick thinking, actions and kindness of everybody involved.
She added: “The staff showed commitment, dedication and teamwork in getting to me, and going above and beyond the call of duty. Throughout everything they were supportive to me and my husband. I am eternally grateful.”
During the night, Robert noticed that his wife had stopped breathing and immediately called 999.
Emergency Call Taker Daniel Crandley provided Robert with instructions on how to perform cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), whilst Emergency Dispatcher Cheryl Carter allocated paramedics Louis Webster and Danny Munday to the incident.
Louis and Danny, who work on a fast response vehicle, needed urgent support from an ambulance to assist with Sharon’s care and to transport her to hospital.
Ambulance crew Becky Green and Mark Ferneaux were on their way when they became stuck in the snow drifts. Whilst trying to free the vehicle, farmers from RJ & AE Godfrey from Brigg came across the ambulance and stopped to help.
When a patient is in cardiac arrest minutes and seconds matter, so farmer Kevin Young transported Becky to Sharon’s home in his tractor, allowing Becky to assist Louis and Daniel to get Sharon’s heart beating again.
The farmers also arranged for colleagues to rescue Mark with the stuck ambulance. Meanwhile Dispatcher Cheryl worked quickly to send Paramedic Sherri Hanson and Technician Karl Rhodes in an ambulance to take Sharon to Scunthorpe General Hospital.
Sharon, husband Rob and family have today been able to say thank you to the staff who saved her life #PrideinEMAS #EMAZING