A student nurse jumped into action and saved a man’s life after he stopped breathing while driving his car. Demi Murphy is a three-year student nurse at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital in Liverpool, England. While she was driving back to work after lunch, she noticed a man’s car was in the middle of the road.
According to a press release from Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, she ran to the car and noticed that the man, identified as John McKeown, was unresponsive and wasn’t breathing. Murphy said in the hospital’s release, “I didn’t have time to think about it. I just jumped in the car and started doing CPR while he was in the driver’s seat.” Her friend, who had been on the phone with her, called an ambulance.
At the same time, McKeown’s partner, Vicky Flattery, called his phone, and Murphy answered. As the hospital stated, this was when she learned that McKeown’s father had a genetic heart condition. Murphy said, “Thankfully, the ambulance arrived quite quickly, and they got him out of the car, and I continued CPR when John was on the floor while the paramedics got the defibrillator.” After gaining a pulse, McKeown was put in the ambulance and taken to the hospital.
The 37-year-old later discovered that he had suffered a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. He was put on life support in intensive care, according to the hospital’s press release. McKeown suffered a seizure and was placed in an induced coma as well. Since the incident, McKeown has had surgery to fit an implantable cardiac defibrillator to stop his irregular heartbeats. He was able to spend Christmas with Flattery and his three children.
Flattery told the BBC that although McKeown doesn’t have tons of memories of the incident or of a few days before the incident, they are grateful he’s okay. She said, “We’re just really thankful that Demi was in the right place at the right time, and all the other paramedics and hospital teams worked to save John so he could come home to his children and his family.” Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust chief nursing officer David Melia said in a press release that Murphy should be “incredibly proud of herself.”
He said, “Her quick thinking and life-saving actions mean John is here to enjoy Christmas with his family this year.” Melia added that he has “no doubt that Demi has a long and successful career ahead of her.”