PUBLISHED: 00:01, Wed, Jan 29, 2020

Kevin Holburn, 60, complained of heartburn as he drove Ali, 15, and son Dan, 13, back from school (Image: BournemouthEcho)

Ali, in the campervan’s front passenger seat, dialled 999 while Dan called their mum. Passerby Dan Smith helped the patient out and lay him by the road at Poole, Dorset. They did first aid until ambulances arrived and then Kevin received half a dozen shocks from a defibrillator before his heart, which had stopped for over 30 minutes, started beating again. At hospital cardiologists inserted a stent to repair the artery and the electrical engineering director woke from a coma two days later with no recollection of the emergency. He is still in hospital after the heart attack on January 15 but is set to make a full recovery.

Doctors said that had Ali not carried out the resuscitation she had just learnt at school in Dorchester, her dad could have died.

Kevin said: “It is just unbelievable. Without Ali and Dan doing what they did, I basically wouldn’t be here today. It’s as simple as that.

“There was a lot of fate going on that day. Ali was in the campervan for the first time on a Wednesday.

“There was an ambulance coming the other way that turned round. The other ambulance arrived very quickly. A helicopter paramedic who wasn’t flying that day was also in the area.”

Ali told how her dad was complaining of chest pain and planned to have an early night. But his condition deteriorated rapidly.

The teen, who got top marks in CPR, said: “It was really, really overwhelming and really shocking as it came out of nowhere.”

She added: “It is not just doing the correct amount of compressions, it is how you hold your hands. Even the smallest amount of blood going to the brain makes the difference. I am usually relatively calm in situations, so I tried to keep it all together. I was worried for my brother and we were both upset.”

She doubted if many people would have an idea what to do in an emergency without CPR training.

The teen doubts many would know what to do without CPR training (Image: BournemouthEcho)

Mum Theresa, who got to the scene, was “so proud” of her children in a “horrific” situation.

She said: “The paramedics told me how wonderful the children had been, especially Ali who had done the CPR.”

Brother Dan said their father is to take them to the US for a holiday.

He said: “Dad’s promised to take us to Florida to say thank you.”

All English state secondary pupils will learn CPR from September.

Hospital consultant Rob McCormick said the girl’s “response shows that teaching school kids works. If Ali had not done chest compressions, her father might not be sat up chatting to his family.”

Original Link:

Daughter saves her father's life after he 'died' from a cardiac arrest | UK | News | Express.co.uk