HomeMy WebLinkAboutGoderich Signal Star, 2011-12-07, Page 10m's CPR saves daughters life after cardiac arrest
ihomlinson is a healthy, active 14 -year
lays ringette in Goderich.'
r, like one in 500 people, Madison -- or
s an arrhythmia disorder - one that
med her life.
bet. 6, Madi was getting ready for school
st woken up her brother Carter, when
to leave the room and dropped lifeless
re
d suffered a full blown cardiac arrest.
called 911 and Michelle, who had
ing years ago, began performing CPR
on Madi.
It was the CPR that saved the girl's life.
"She was still unresponsive when the paramedics
came but keeping the heart going is what kept her
alive," Michelle said. "From the time she dropped
to the time I jumped out of bed she was already
gone.
"No heartbeat, no pulse. Nothing."
The seven or eight minutes she performed CPR
seemed like a lifetime to Michelle, and paramedics
had to use a defibrillatortwice to bring Madi back.
After being airlifted to London, Madi was diag-
nosed with hypertrophic cardio myopathy - a form
of sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS).
It took a week before Madi was awake again - she
was kept in a coma while doctors
brought her blood temperature down to
reduce brain swelling.
Paramedic Greg Gordon was one of
the First responders.
"It's a good thing (Michelle) had CPR
skills and started right away, he said.
"Otherwise it could have been a very
sad outcome."
That is the message Michelle wants to
get across CPR saves lives.
There were no warning signs, or at
least, none known to the family at that
time.
However, symptoms of SADS include
heart palpitations, chest pains, and
fainting or seizures during exercise. A
Michelle Thomlinson
(left) saved daughter.
Madison's (right) life;
performing CPR after
Madison suffered an
unexplained cardiac
arrest October 6.
Canadian
Cancer
Society
family history of sudden, unexplained
death in young people is also a warning
sign.
Treatment includes beta-blocking
drugs used to regulate heart rhythms
and in Madi's case, an 101- an implant-
able cardioverter defibrillator which
detects and counters arrhythmia using
electrical impulses.
More information on the disorder is
available at www.sads.ca, and if Michelle
can get one thing across it's that taking
the time to learn CPR whether it's
teachers who are not required to have
thetraining or arena staff who now have
access to defibrillators . can and does
save lives like Madi's.
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WER OF THE MAITLAND
ok Launch
nday, Dec. 11
2-4 p.m.
• unty Museum, North Street, Goderich
arks at 2:30 Light Refreshments
Meet local authors John Hazlitt and Ted
Tumer who explored the waterways of the
Maidand watershed to uncover evidence of
earn settlers harnessing the power of the
Maitland River. Their book features full
colour throughout with historical tris and
early photos of dams sites and the milt they
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