Vacationing nurses 'spring into action' to save man on group tour
A man got incredibly lucky when he happened to be around the exact right crowd when he had a heart attack on holiday.
Four American nurses from Kansas City were also enjoying their vacation to Austria, where they had joined a group touring a cave. T
hey noticed a man sitting down, looking ill. While most thought he was tired, the nurses recognized the symptoms of a heart attack and sprang into action.
One of the nurses administered CPR, while the others tended to him and called in emergency services. They kept him going until EMTs could transfer him to the hospital. After numerous surgeries, the man is alive and recovering from an intense cardiac episode.
READ MORE: Union warns of 'exodus' of burnt-out staff as nurse who treated PM quits over pay insult
Surprising symptom that 40% of women suffer weeks before a heart attack
A nurse administered CPR while on vacation, saving a fellow traveller (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"There wasn't a single one of us that was trying to hold back or didn't want to help," explained one of the group of nurses from Children's Mercy Hospital, Angelique Short. At an elevation of 13,000 feet, "there wasn't a single one of us that was trying to hold back or didn't want to help," continued Short.
For all the latest news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US
The four nurses, who have been friends for years, decided to take their first foreign vacation together. However, their relaxing trip quickly turned into a life-saving mission. "We had noticed that he was laboured and sitting on the ground," Rachel Auffert explained.
Initially, they thought the man was just tired. But when he collapsed, Fallon Olf was the first to respond. "I had my hand on his neck, feeling for a pulse," she said. "Then I was screaming at the girls that he doesn't have a pulse."
Caves and mountains are areas that can be dangerous to those with a heart condition (Getty Images)Olf performed CPR on the man, who was then rushed to a local hospital. Despite being on holiday, the nurses switched into "nurse mode."
"We weren't supposed to be there at that time, but really we were," Meg Green reflected. "I do feel like it's a very innate thing in you that just kicks in and you do what you're supposed to do." All four nurses are now back at work, but the trip has given them a new perspective on their job.
In the US, nursing is the nation's largest healthcare profession, with nearly 5.2 million registered nurses (RNs) nationwide. Of all licensed RNs, 89 per cent are employed in the field, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
Nurses' roles range from "direct patient care and case management to establishing nursing practice standards, developing quality assurance procedures, and directing complex nursing care systems."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
