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Lifesavers thanked by grateful family

Thursday, 21 August 2008

A NORTHSIDE woman has expressed gratitude to the people who came to the aid of her dying husband recently.
Last week Northside People reported how a cyclist’s life was saved thanks to a defibrillator brought to where the man had collapsed from a local pharmacy.
Michael Chaney had suffered a heart attack while cycling to work through Rathborne but survived thanks to those who arrived on the scene.
According to doctors at Connolly Hospital, the 53-year-old father-of-three is lucky to be alive.
“Fortunately, an off duty doctor and two off duty firemen were on hand to help Michael,” his wife Mary explained.
“The doctor used a defibrillator to re-establish a heart beat. It was a stroke of luck that the doctor knew that the pharmacy nearby had the piece of equipment.
“I’m eternally grateful to all those who helped my husband. Without them, their quick thinking and the defibrillator, Michael would almost certainly be dead.”
She added: “It’s a credit to those people on the scene that they were able to stay calm and collected at such a time.”
Blanchardstown local Michael collapsed from his bike while on his way to start his shift as a security guard in Rathborne.
“I didn’t hear or know anything about what happened until the hospital contacted me at around 6pm in the evening,” Mary told Northside People.
“He’s still in hospital and will be for a few weeks, I imagine. But he’s stable and off all the machines so we are counting our blessings.”
The defibrillator kept in the Unicare Pharmacy in Rathborne played a vital role in the medical drama that unfolded not far from the outlet.
Pharmacist Fergus Gibbons was one of the people who helped save Michael’s life.
“When I brought up the defibrillator, the man didn’t have a heart rhythm but the defibrillator quickly managed to re-establish a slight heart beat,” he told Northside People.
“There is no doubt that it bought him some valuable time while the emergency services were on the way.”
The defibrillator is a portable electronic device which sends a shock through the heart in an effort to re-establish a heartbeat.
According to Brian Downes of Pulse Medical in Damastown, the company that supplies the equipment, the gadget can make the difference between life and death.
“Victims of heart failure have about a two per cent survival rate,” he explained.
“However, if they have access to a defibrillator their survival rate shoots up to about 70 per cent.”
He added: “The man in Rathborne is incredibly lucky to have fallen ill near somewhere that had the defibrillator.”

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