On Thursday 2^nd August, a gentleman in his 50's known as Kenny Riley was enjoying an open water swim in Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club / Pennington Flash when he became unresponsive in the water. Kenny had recently competed in a recent Iron Man event.

Water safety patrol brothers, Matthew (17) and Conner (18) O’Donnell noticed the emergency in the water and began to act. Matthew pulled Kenny onto his boat and took him back to dry land where the brothers began to deliver effective CPR. Another swimmer by the name of Tracy went to the entrance of the sailing club to retrieve the defibrillator.

A total of three shocks were delivered to Kenny to restart his heart back into a regular, resting heart rhythm. While the shocks were being delivered, 999 was dialled and an ambulance was requested to the scene. Shortly after the ambulance’s arrival, the air ambulance arrived, and Kenny was taken to Manchester Royal where advanced medical treatment could be administered.

Purchased years prior to the cardiac event, Leigh and Lowton Sailing Club owns a Physio-Control LIFEPAK CR Plus defibrillator. This specific life-saving device is one of many that has pride of place in defibshop’s #Defibworld80 hall of fame which displays defibrillators from all around the world.

Matthew said: “I noticed that he was unresponsive in the water, so I took him back to land at full power on my boat. I started CPR and mouth to mouth while drying him off then my brother Conner put the defib pads on him and shocked him. The outcome would have been very different if we didn’t have the defibrillator.”

defibshop Accountant, Kath Parr is a regular Summer visitor to Pennington Flash and friend to both Conner and Matthew and said: “I’m so proud of the both of them. They acted so quickly and selflessly. I wasn’t there during the emergency, but was on-site directly after and heard of the event.”

Kenny is now in Manchester Royal Hospital and is in a stable condition.

After hearing the story, defibshop have awarded Matthew and Conner with a defibshop Lifesaver Award to recognise their bravery and actions when saving the Kenny’s life. defibshop have also donated a fresh set of electrode pads to ensure the life-saving device is ready to use at any given time.

Unlike other cardiac events, cardiac arrest does not discriminate and can happen at any given time, regardless of the patient’s age, gender, current fitness level or ethnicity.

The only definitive treatment for victims of sudden cardiac arrest is effective CPR, delivered on the ratio of 30 chest compressions to 2 rescue breaths, and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). If treatment is administered within 3-5 minutes of the victim collapsing, their chance of survival increases significantly from 6% to 74%.

However, if treatment is delayed, for every minute that the patient does not receive treatment, their survival chance decreases by 10%. Current ambulance response rates in urban areas stand at 11 minutes, meaning that early intervention with a defibrillator and bystander CPR is essential when saving someone’s life.

To learn more about AEDs, visit our defibrillator page.

defibshop are committed to equipping everyone with the skills and knowledge to save a life. Speak to one of our Product Specialists on 0161 776 7422 or fill out our Contact Form.