Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. Now, how important is it that we all know some first aid? Well, community first responder Gerry Fitzgerald knows all too well what the answer to that is, because he was helped by one of his fellow volunteers after suffering a heart attack. And Gerry is with me here in the studio. Gerry, you're very welcome. Thanks for being with us.
Thanks for having me.
So when are we talking about?
Chapter 2: How important is it for everyone to know some first aid?
What happened and when?
So on the 3rd of February 2025, I suffered what's known as a STEMI, which is a ST elevation myocardial infraction, which is basically a technical term for a heart attack.
So where were you when it happened?
I had been power washing my house that day. That evening, I decided to go for a walk. I felt some pain in my left arm. I ignored it. I continued walking and the pain traveled into my jaw and my upper left shoulder. I knew immediately what was happening to him.
Right. And you knew why? Why did you know?
I knew because I had been trained by the group that I worked for, the Community First Responder Scheme. And I knew the indications for what's known as myocardial infractions. Okay.
And who made the call?
Did you make the call? I did. I returned home to my wife, who was kind of shocked when she saw me coming in the door. And I have a direct line to the National Emergency Operations Centre on my phone, which I called and told them that this was a 10 Delta call.
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Chapter 3: What happened to Gerry Fitzgerald during his heart attack?
They knew immediately what that meant. And I asked them to activate the community first responder scheme in the town that I live in, Carrick Unsure. They told me that that had already been done once the call was made by me. And literally within two minutes, my colleagues started arriving at my house.
Right. So this is one of the benefits of you being a community first responder, right?
Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely.
So your colleagues arrived in, so people you've trained with and work with and all the rest, they pile into the house and they go... They all arrive into my house, which was, to be honest with you, a great relief to me and my wife when I saw all of them arriving.
Because I knew once they arrived that I was in good hands. I knew that if things went badly, that they could take care of me and probably stabilise me until the arrival of an ambulance. I was looking so far as the stars aligned for me because... there was an ambulance in the area which was diverted to my house and they were there within six minutes.
Oh God, that was very quick. So in the meantime, so you had about five minutes, say, with your colleagues who arrived in. What were they doing?
Their job at that stage would have been to take my vitals. So they would be looking at my blood pressure, they would be looking at my oxygenation levels to see where I was with that. And basically to provide reassurance to my wife, which they were doing. Part of the CFR scheme job is not all about doing the medical stuff. So if we go to a call, we're not all involved in looking after the patient.
We would take the family away and we would deal with the family and try and reassure them as best we can. So that's what they were doing. They were doing that with my wife and they were doing that with me. The National Ambulance Service arrived at my house and it was two guys that I had done two calls with that day.
You're joking. You'd actually done calls with them on the day?
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Chapter 4: How did Gerry recognize the signs of his heart attack?
At that stage, I was able to talk. It was when I went to the hospital that things went badly very, very quickly. While I was in the hospital, I stood up to move. And the last thing I remember was everything went grey, I was lying on the floor and my clothes were being cut off and I knew what was happening at that stage.
And after that, I have very little memory of what happened to me until I got to University Hospital Cork where I was treated.
And what did they do there?
What was happening to me was I had a 98% blockage of the right coronary artery. So that means that myocardium, which is the muscle that contracts to support your heart, wasn't working effectively. So they put a stent into my heart to open up that area and allow the blood to flow freely through it. I was treated there and then I spent a week in hospital.
And how has your recovery been since?
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Chapter 5: What actions did Gerry take after realizing he was having a heart attack?
Because we're over a year now.
Absolutely fine. It's a whole new lease of life having a stent in. It makes such a difference to people who have blockages within their arteries that if you get a stent in, it opens up the artery and allows the blood to flow properly.
And you're back to power washing the house now?
I'm not back to power washing the house. Not at the moment.
But have you changed anything in your life since this happened?
I've gotten a lot more exercise than I would have had before. And that's Basically because my wife forces me to take me out and do some exercise.
Yeah, because you don't want this to happen again. But clearly you're being monitored as well to make sure everything is working.
I've been monitored very frequently, yeah. Absolutely been monitored. And there's a whole series of medication that I need to take then for the rest of the year.
Right. But your message today is about community first responders and it's about first aid as well.
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Chapter 6: What role do community first responders play in emergency situations?
We discussed that when we set up our scheme in Carrick and Shure and the scheme was set up by two friends of mine, one from the Red Cross called Adam Hunt and the other one from the National Ambulance Service. He's a paramedic called Danny Dowdle. Two fantastic people who set up the scheme. So we decided that for us it wouldn't be feasible because we all have day jobs. We all work
So it's whoever is available at the time goes. 99.9% of the time we get to all calls and we get there within 10 minutes. So we have a radius in Carrick and Shure of 10 kilometres. Geographically, Carrick is situated between Kilkenny, Watford and Tipperary. So it's three counties there that we cover within 10k of the town. And it's who is available, who's the person.
More often than not, there is always someone available to go to a call. And the calls come in to us from the National Lambeth Service through an app and through a text message. And it gives us a brief outline of what's happening to the patient. Are they having a chest pain? Are they cold? Are they clammy?
There's also a facility for us then to click on that and it will give us the air code and direct us to the location of that call.
So is your message today to encourage more people to sign up for a scheme like this in their area?
Absolutely. I think every single town and village, particularly in rural areas, because the ambulance service can't get to rural areas as quickly as they would in a city. So we would encourage everybody in a rural area to set up their own CFR scheme, which can be done. You will be provided with full training. You can be provided by the Red Cross or you can be provided by Critical.
They provide full training for all the members involved.
And then all of the equipment as well. And as you mentioned, you're getting your full kit. That'll work for some people and it'll be great for them to be able to do that. Now, for everybody else, given what you've described to me there, we really all should have some sort of a basic knowledge in first aid, shouldn't we?
Yeah, well, I believe I'd be honest, which I think that it should start in schools. I think that CPR should be part of the curriculum in schools to teach effective CPR. I know that in my own town, we've engaged with even a primary level. We have engaged with the schools in our area.
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