PRESS RELEASE: GoodSAM responder saves young mother’s life using CellAED®

Heathcote, VIC, 6 DEC 2024 – When a young mother collapsed unexpectedly during a morning jog, six quick actions of local responders and early access to defibrillation gave her a second chance at life.

Lee, a 30-year resident of Heathcote and an Ambulance Community Officer, Registered Nurse, and GoodSAM Responder, played a crucial role in the rescue. Although she’s responded to 18 sudden cardiac arrests (SCA) over her career, this one was different.

The mother, holding her 10-month-old baby, felt dizzy before collapsing onto the road. Her friends sprang into action—one calling 000 while the other began CPR.

“They’re the real heroes,” Lee said. “They didn’t hesitate, and that’s what made all the difference.”

Lee received a GoodSAM alert and arrived within two minutes. Grabbing her CellAED® and medical kit, she quickly assessed the scene. “CPR was being performed, a crowd had gathered, and young children were watching in shock,” Lee recalled.

With the bystanders continuing CPR under Lee’s guidance, she applied her CellAED® to the woman’s bare chest. The device delivered two shocks before Lee detected a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). “I’ve got a pulse!” she shouted, marking the first time in her career that she’d seen a patient’s heart restart following a sudden cardiac arrest.

The local Heathcote ambulance crew arrived minutes later, and Lee and her team manager worked together to stabilise the woman before the advanced life support and mobile intensive care ambulances (MICA) arrived. The young mum was then airlifted to Alfred Hospital in Melbourne. Within a week, she had received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and returned home to her family.

“The chain of survival worked perfectly,” Lee said. From immediate CPR to the GoodSAM alert and rapid defibrillation with CellAED®, every link was critical. “The young guy who started CPR right away made all the difference.”

This rescue was deeply personal for Lee, whose own children attended school with the woman’s family. “That could have been one of my kids,” she reflected. “I’d want someone to step in and do everything they could.”

Lee, who carries her CellAED® everywhere in a small, insulated lunchbox, calls the device “idiot-proof.” Unlike other AEDs, CellAED® is portable, easy to use, and designed for anyone, trained or not. “You just snap, peel, stick,” she said.

Lee urges everyone to get involved, emphasizing that training isn’t a requirement to make a difference. “If you do nothing, people will die. But if you try, you give them a chance.”

This rescue stands as a powerful testament to the importance of personal AEDs, quick action, and community responders. Thanks to these efforts, three young children still have their mum—and Heathcote has one more life saved to celebrate.

ENDS

About CellAED®

CellAED® was designed to save lives from sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) by making a personal defibrillator that is affordable, accessible, effective, and easy-to-use in the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA).

SCA is a medical emergency that occurs when the heart suddenly stops beating effectively, preventing blood from being pumped around the body. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. A person in cardiac distress can quite quickly deteriorate into a cardiac arrest. Within seconds, a person in SCA will collapse, become unresponsive, and stop breathing normally. The time critical steps in the treatment of SCA include calling emergency services, starting CPR, and retrieving a defibrillator. For each minute CPR and defibrillation are delayed, the chances of survival decrease by 10%. Every minute counts.

CellAED is designed to empower someone to be prepared to help save a life of someone they care about in the event of witnessing a sudden cardiac arrest.

Media contacts:

Lee Ridsdale, GoodSAM Responder, 0408 791 800 

Brooke Mickan, CellAED®, 0466 637 452