ben Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 As some of you may know I am a firefighter and have been for approx 10 years. I've seen some things that I would not wish anyone to see. Tonight was a different experience all together. My daughter Ava is very good friends with the granddaughter (Alex) of a couple who live over the road. I don know them too well, only to say hello in the street. The grandfather, Brian, had a heart attack last year and has been a bit unwell recently. I had just finished giving the girls their tea and was washing up when I saw a paramedics car pull up to Alex's grandparents house. I went over to see if I could help. Brian was in cardiac arrest and the paramedic was on his own. I knew him from local jobs we had been on together. We started working on Brian, me doing chest compressions and the paramedic giving the breaths with a BVM. It was plain to see that Brian was dead but there's always a chance. After 20 minutes another ambulance turned up to assist. We tried everything we could but we were going through the motions of I'm honest. Now, when I'm at work and in my uniform you expect to deal with things like this but I must admit it caught me very off guard tonight. Ones of the worst experiences of my life of I'm honest, a lot worse than all of the othe jobs I've been on. Alex is staying with us tonight, none the wiser that her granddad has died. Sorry for the long post but this was one thing I felt I needed to get off my chest. Cheers for reading. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay. Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 So sorry to hear that ben - it must be hard for you , thoughts are with you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr T Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 all credit to you for knowing what to do, like yousay there is a huge difference between having your 'game' face on as it were, the mask of 'this is my job' and actually dealing with the emotional side when it crosses the boundary to home life. Eitherway that takes some doing to just roll your sleeves up in that kind of a situation, sorry it wasn't a happier outcome but damn that is a hero's job and a half. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAZ 2617 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sorry to hear your sad news Ben. You did your best mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Mark Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ouch mate, that sucks for all, life is finite but never easy when it ends for the people left behind eh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blair Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Well done for trying many of us would have just looked thro the curtains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz 330 Cs Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Ah man thats really bad, sad news. As above though, you gave it your best shot, you cant do anymore than that. Life is such a bitch @ times hey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 sorry to hear that mate.. and top man for trying your best, im afraid sometimes thats life and nothing can help, and atleast your there for his grand daughter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Cheers for the replies fellas. It's Alex I feel really bad for, she worshipped her grandad and isn't going to take the news well. Thankfully I have a healthy stock of Stella Artois Cidre to take the edge off. Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimzimmer46 Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sorry to hear this Ben thoughts go out to the family. It's not nice trying to recover someone as my old friend died couple of years ago. Me & a m8 had to break in his house cos we knew something was wrong (he run like clockwork) well we found him in bed dead. Phoned ambulance and while we was on the phone to them they was instructing us to do CPR ....we knew he'd be gone for a while as 1 side of his body was blue also rigamortis had set in :-( still they assisted we go ahead with CPR tho. He died of a blood cloat in his leg that caused pulmonary embolism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 hat off to you for trying your best ben! as blaire says above 'many of us would have just looked thro the curtains' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamN Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Sorry to hear mate.. At least you did all you could. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben Posted April 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Id like to think that anyone in a similar situation would have done the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mintimperial Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 Mate that's awful..not a nice day.. Can't find the words really. Hope all gets more bearable as the time goes on. My dad had a heart attack in the car and someone came to help...you don't often think how hard it is for those people who do when something like this happens. Chin up mate, im sure everyone involved will make sure the family and kids are well looked after. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Posted April 3, 2012 Report Share Posted April 3, 2012 You tried everything you could. And when Alex gets over the death, she'll definitely appreciate everything you did for him. As Blair said, well done and thank you for trying. Many would have just carried on with their evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazanders Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Know where you are with that one Ben. Got called out of work by my dad to say our neighbour had collapsed (heart attack) in their garden. It was only a quick sprint up the road to get to them. Went through the standard checks (First aid trained with RNLI) and commenced CPR. I was fortunate that the ambulance turned up within a few minutes and then I just assisted with them. Plays on your mind afterwards, especially when you know the person you are working on. Sure there are professionals within your work that you can talk with if you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john.med Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Good on ya Ben, I bet your arms and back are sore too. My wife, a nurse, did a similar thing for a neighbour, alone, til the paramedics arrived. It was a foregone conclusion too, but she and you kept trying. Heroes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tizz Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 hats off to you for even trying to help as someone said most would just peer through curtains! Thoughts with you and family to the little girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Just to echo everyone elses thoughts, you did your best Ben and many wouldn't have tried to do anything. Thoughts are with the family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonlpearce Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Hats off to you mate. Im a trained first aider and no matter how much you practice i cant ever imagine having to do it for real!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Syxx Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 That's sad mate and praise to you for trying to save his life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CiSteve Posted April 4, 2012 Report Share Posted April 4, 2012 Cant imagine having to do it, "in your personal time" as it were, used to work on search and rescue helicopters in Ayrshire, and like you seen a lot of things that you dont wish anyone to see. And when youve got your uniform/work gear on it seems so much easier to deal with. Hats off to you mate, even though you'll undoubtably come across death in your line of work on a regular basis you still sound shook up! Oh,and my daughter is called Ava too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
