A mum who suffered a cardiac arrest while she was strapping her young child into their car seat has thanked the North West Air Ambulance Charity for their life-saving response.
Nicola Chadwick had been visiting the Christmas lights and the nativity display in Clitheroe last year as part of their festive tradition, but it soon became a nightmare for the family.
Husband Ben performed CPR and within minutes members of the public offered to help.
When paramedics Mikey and Lee arrived, they gave shocks via a defibrillator to try and restart Nicola’s heart.
They administered a further shock as Nicola had an extremely rare heart rhythm. Her heart briefly started again but a second cardiac arrest soon followed.
After a further shock and a brief round of CPR, her heart started beating again.
The charity’s critical care paramedics were able to give Nicola drugs to sedate her and protect her brain function as they accompanied her in the ambulance to hospital.
During her stay in hospital, Nicola, 38, from Clitheroe, was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and she was able to make it home for Christmas with her family.
One year on, Nicola has made a full recovery and is saying a huge thank you to the North West Air Ambulance Charity by launching their Christmas campaign ‘Message in a Bauble’.
READ MORE: North West Air Ambulance Charity need volunteers in shops
Nicola and her family recently visited Mikey and Lee at the charity’s air base to thank the team for saving her life.
She said: “There never seem to be enough words or the right words to thank Mikey and Lee; they are heroes to us, and I’m sure to countless other families. We couldn’t believe it when we found out they were a charity-run organisation.
“If it weren’t for Mikey and Lee, there’s a very high possibility that I wouldn’t be here now, I wouldn’t’ be able to watch Emily [Nicola’s daughter] grow up, and she wouldn’t have a mum.”
Ben, Nicola’s husband, said: “When Mikey and Lee arrived at the scene, although it was obvious how critical the situation was, I had a feeling of reassurance from them that was a relief from the absolute panic I was feeling. Because of them, Nicola is still here with me and Emily.”
The ‘Message in a Bauble’ campaign will give everyone across the North West a chance to say thank you and pass on festive messages to the crew members, who will be working as usual over the Christmas period.
Critical care paramedic Lee added: “When leaving the hospital at the time of the incident, we both said how much of an excellent Christmas present it would make for them to be together as a family and Nicola fully recovered.”
READ MORE: Man thanks air ambulance after gory Morecambe beach accident
Fellow paramedic Mikey also said: “I think both of us wanted to see Nicola home safe. I remember talking about the impact: her young daughter still has a mum, and her husband still has a wife.
“Meeting the family was great; I don’t think I will ever be able to express how either of us felt seeing them all together laughing and joking.”
A video featuring Nicola and the paramedics who saved her life is available to watch on the North West Air Ambulance Charity YouTube channel.
For more information about how to get involved with the ‘Message in a Bauble’ campaign, visit the North West Air Ambulance Charity website.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here