Five years to the day after her heart stopped beating without warning, now 30-year-old Demi Buxton stood face-to-face with the SECAmb team who shocked her back to life.
Demi, a Metropolitan Police officer, was with her friend and colleague Saf, collecting Saf’s daughter from school in Rochester, Kent, when she collapsed on 8 January 2020.
When Saf returned to the car, she found Demi slumped over and her lips blue. Acting on pure adrenalin, Saf pulled Demi from the car, called 999 and began chest compressions on the roadside.
A first aid-trained estate agent also stepped in to assist, taking over CPR until ambulance crews arrived.
A team of seven colleagues responded to the category 1 call, shocking then 25-year-old Demi’s heart with a defibrillator 12 times before achieving a return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). She was then rushed to King’s College Hospital by road, where she spent three days in a coma before waking.
Five years on from the cardiac arrest, Demi and friend Saf visited the Trust’s Medway Make Ready Centre where they were both reunited with Emergency Care Support Worker, Harriet Pippin and Paramedics, Neil Probets, Craig Stoneman and Angie Rogers.
In the years since, Demi has experienced two further cardiac arrests, but thankfully her implanted defibrillator successfully regulated her heart both times.
Since her cardiac arrest, Demi has found out that she has a rare heart condition called short-coupled ventricular fibrillation and is just one of four people in the UK with the condition which she now takes medication for.
With the overall survival rate in the UK less than one in 10 for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, Demi’s story underscores the importance of effective bystander CPR. For more information on CPR, click here.
Saf said “At first I thought Demi was playing around pretending to be asleep to make my daughter laugh but after I pushed her head back, I saw her lips were blue and she wasn’t responding so I immediately got her out the car.”
Demi said “I don’t remember anything from that day and so it was really interesting to hear from the crew’s perspective of what happened. I really can’t thank them enough.”
“Moments like this remind us why we do what we do,” said Harriet, “and seeing Demi alive and healthy is the ultimate reward for us.”
Neil added “This was the first time I was lucky enough to be reunited with a patient, and even more special that it was on the five-year anniversary of the incident. I wish Demi a happy and healthy future.”