Keith Lawrenz
When he collapsed on a London street, the first aid training of
a nearby stranger made the difference between life and death for
Keith Lawrenz.
'It was just an ordinary morning at work when the milkman rushed
into our building to say that he had just seen somebody collapse
outside,' says Peter Marchant.
He went outside to investigate and saw that Keith was lying
motionless on the street. As Peter got nearer he could see he was
unconscious; the colour had completely drained from his face.
'Keith wasn't breathing, which meant his heart was probably not
beating. I started
CPR
– doing chest
compressions and rescue breaths – until the ambulance arrived.'
Peter knew the CPR might not bring Keith back on its
own, but without the simple treatment to simulate his heart
pumping, he would die.
I collapsed on my own on the street, and it's only because someone nearby knew what to do that I'm here today.
Keith Lawrenz
'The ambulance arrived, paramedics gave Keith an electrical
shock and some drugs to restart his heart, and I carried on. It
felt like ages, but finally the rhythm returned in Keith's heart.
He was alive again. I can't put into words how relieved I was.'
Keith's heart stopped for a total of 24
minutes. If Peter hadn't known the simple steps to take to
keep his heart beating, Keith wouldn't have survived.
Keith says, 'Everyone keeps calling me the miracle – but Peter
made that happen. I collapsed on my own on the street, and it's
only because someone nearby knew what to do that I'm here today. I
don't want to imagine what might have happened to me if no one had
known first aid'.