An East Lothian woman has been praised after performing CPR on a man when he collapsed on a packed bus in Musselburgh.
Melissa Cowie stepped in when a man became unresponsive while travelling on public transport through East Lothian last Friday.
The 28-year-old gave CPR for 15 minutes until an ambulance arrived which allowed emergency services to eventually get a heart rate and rush the man to hospital.
Sadly the gentleman later died in hospital but the emergency services praised the brave local for stepping in. Melissa learnt CPR and basic first aid when she trained as cabin crew with Ryanair but had never done it on a person before.
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Speaking to Edinburgh Live the Melissa said: "We were downstairs, the bus had stopped outside Pinkie School when a woman came down and spoke to the driver. We couldn't hear what she said but she seemed stressed the driver then asked everyone to get off the bus as someone had taken unwell.
"The driver looked frightened so I asked what was going on, he said 'the guy isn't answering me' and asked if I knew first aid, I said that I wasn't an expert but had been trained, so we went to the man who had collapsed.
"Straight away I started checking for a pulse. He felt completely cold so I told the driver he needed to call an ambulance then we would have to move him onto the floor.
"He was quite a big guy but once we got him on the floor I started CPR straight away. My aunty Marie Grant was with me so she kept checking for a pulse while I was doing compressions.
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She continued to do CPR while her 66-year-old aunty checked the casualty's pulse and tried to comfort him: "It was a good fifteen minutes or so until an ambulance arrived and there were only two of them.
"At this point I was panting and they asked how I was and if I could keep going while they cut his clothes off and stuck the pads on for the defibrillator. It would have wasted more time if I stopped so I said I was fine to keep going.
"We had to give statements to the police after, who told us we did all we could and that the paramedics managed to get a heart rhythm on their way to the hospital.
"Sadly the police phoned and let me know that he passed away the next day but we still don't know the name of the man or any of his family."
Despite being trained Melissa had never done CPR on a person before and described it as being very different from practising on dummies on a plane.
"Days after I was asking myself 'Did that really happen? Was it a dream?" she said.
Anyone can do CPR or take over for someone who is unable to continue, below is the National Heart Foundation's advice on CPR.
CPR in 5 steps
Step 1: Shake and shout
If you come across someone who is unconscious, always check for danger and look for risks before you start helping.
Someone having a cardiac arrest will either not be breathing or they won’t be breathing normally. They also won’t be conscious.
Check for a response – gently shake the person’s shoulders and ask loudly 'are you alright?'
Shout for help – if someone is nearby, ask them to stay as you might need them. If you are alone, shout loudly to attract attention, but don't leave the person.
Step 2: Call 999
If the person is not breathing or not breathing normally:
- ask someone to call 999 immediately and ask for an ambulance
- ask someone for a public access defibrillator (PAD).
If there's no one around call 999 before starting compressions.
Step 3: Cover mouth and nose with cloth.
- If you think there's a risk of infection, lay a towel or a piece of clothing over the mouth and nose. Don't put your face close to theirs.
- If you're sure the person is breathing normally, then put them in the recovery position.
Step 4: Give chest compressions
Do not give rescue breaths at this time.
- Kneel next to the person.
- Place the heel of one hand in the centre of their chest. Place your other hand on top of the first. Interlock your fingers.
- With straight arms, use the heel of your hand to push the breastbone down firmly and smoothly, so that the chest is pressed down between 5–6 cm, and release.
- Do this at a rate of 100 to 120 chest compressions per minute – that’s around 2 per second.
Step 5: Keep going
- Keep going until professional help arrives and takes over, or the person starts to show signs of regaining consciousness, such as coughing, opening their eyes, speaking, or breathing normally.
- If you’re feeling tired, and there’s someone nearby to help, instruct them to continue.
