A Derbyshire grandmother whose heart stopped beating in front of her family and friends 12 minutes into 2023 has been reunited with the emergency team who saved her life.
On 1 January 2023, Frances Williamson, from Borrowash, was at a party enjoying bringing in the new year with those closest to her, including watching Big Ben chime on the TV and singing Auld Lang Syne.
But just 12 minutes into 2023, Frances had collapsed onto the kitchen floor in front of startled partygoers.
Frances said: “I didn’t experience any warning signs of what was about to happen.
“I was having a lovely time at the party and didn’t experience any chest pain or any of the other symptoms which could have suggested something was about to go seriously wrong.
“I went over to the kitchen just after singing Auld Lang Syne with everyone else and my last memory is talking to a friend and then I collapsed on the floor.”
Luckily for Frances, one of the people at the event happened to be off-duty Clinical Assessment Team (CAT) paramedic, Vicky Gough.
Vicky said: “I heard someone from the kitchen shout ‘Vicky, Fran’s collapsed!”
“I instantly switched back to clinician mode and started my assessments on Frances, while someone else called 999.
“She was initially breathing but was unconscious, so I put her into the recovery position. But then her body then began to shake, and she started to audibly gag.
“Soon afterwards, Frances stopped breathing and I couldn’t feel a pulse – she had gone into cardiac arrest.”
Vicky and Frances’s daughter-in-law, Kate, began CPR and Vicky also performed checks on Frances’s airway to ensure it was clear of any obstruction.
A second 999 was also made to alert the control room to the worsening situation, and it was clear that Frances’ life was at immediate risk, and she needed an ambulance as soon as possible.
An open-mic request was broadcast to all nearby ambulance clinicians in the area and was responded to by Specialist Practitioner and Cardiac Arrest Lead, Kerri Lowe, who abandoned her meal break in order to attend.
Kerri said: “I was literally two minutes away down the road and when I heard that it was a cardiac arrest, so I got back in my car immediately in order to attend.
“I arrived with the defibrillator and thanks to the effective CPR being carried out by Vicky and Kate, we identified that Frances’s heart was in a shockable rhythm.
“After delivering one shock from the defib I could actually see Frances’s heart beating through her chest, which was an indicator that we had managed to get her back.
“There’s no doubt that the immediate life support provided by Vicky and Kate led to such a positive outcome.
“This is the first time I’ve met up with someone after knowing they have survived a cardiac arrest so it’s very surreal but also pretty incredible.”
Frances had what is known as an ‘utstien cardiac arrest’ – meaning the arrest was witnessed and immediate CPR, along with a VF shock from a defibrillator, were given to regain a heart rhythm.
Receiving CPR within the first three to four minutes of a cardiac arrest is crucial in terms of maximising the chances of survival.
Kerri and Vicky were backed up by paramedics Wayne Rowland, Matthew Lawman and Jodie Paskin, and Frances was taken to Royal Derby Hospital.
Jodie said: “Because of the nature of our work we go to a vast array of different types of emergency calls, but with cardiac arrests you do get that little bit of a flutter in your chest.
“I could see that there was an ambulance outside when I turned up. When I entered the room, I could see that my colleagues had already done everything they could for Frances
“My focus then turned to Frances’s daughter, and she was my priority at that point - while this is a situation, we will have seen numerous times before, this may be the first time she had witnessed something this distressing, on top of it also happening to a family member.”
Jodie drove Frances’s daughter to the hospital in her fast response car while the rest of the crew conveyed Frances in the ambulance, keeping her occupied through conversation going throughout the journey until she could be with her mum again.
Matt Lawman was in the ambulance with Frances on the way to hospital.
He explained: “Frances’s heart was beating at that time, but she was still unconscious.
“We were supporting her breathing and maintaining her airway for her until we could get her to hospital, so she could have the stents fitted in her heart.
“It’s amazing to see how well Frances is doing since her cardiac arrest.”
Frances is now on the road to recovery, has thoroughly enjoyed meeting the ambulance crews who attended her on the day, and has lots of plans for her future.
Frances said: “It’s been absolutely amazing and very emotional meeting up with the ambulance crew today.
“I really cannot thank them enough and will be eternally grateful to them because if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t still be here.
“I’m especially amazed by the actions of my daughter-in-law Kate, who hadn’t performed CPR until that day.
“Despite this, she just got on with it after Vicky told her to do it and it worked so, between Kate and Vicky, they kept me alive until the Kerri arrived with the defibrillator.
“A cardiac arrest can happen to anyone which is why CPR education is so important.”
If you want to learn CPR, please check out the below video.