CPR during Sinterklaas

It was a quiet sundaymorning 5th December 2010. Due to illness someone has to go from Zuidplein to Rozenburg. John, a cousin of mine, is on duty that day and it is nice to do a shift with him. I volunteer and a minute later I am on my way to Rozenburg.

The town looks deserted when I drive into town. In front of the precinct we check our patrolcar. Then Wouter from the Higway Patrol calls that is he coming over for coffee. 



After some cups we get a call from dispatch. An emergency. A woman has called that her husband is sitting dead in his chair. Despite the cold weather and slippery roads the three of us arrive in minutes at the location.

In a chair in the livingroom a man sits motionless with a purple face. No sign of life what so ever. I grab the man by his arms and put him on the floor and John connects the AED device onto the man. In all the hectic we break the coffetable, pieces are everywhere. Wouter starts CPR. It was already hot in the room, but now with the front door open the small gasheater kicks really in. In no time the small livingroom is hot like a furnace. I turn of the heater. The sound of the television is also at peak level. I can’t find the remote, so I unplug the electricity cord. I also have trouble to calm down the woman. She is totally out of control and steps over husband to catch the cat who fled into the kitchen. I tell her to stay in the hallway. She is obviusly in shock, because it’s like I am talking to a brick wall. Then I force her to sit in a chair in the corner of the room.

In the meanwhile John and Wouter are still busy with CPR and the AED device does its job. The device suggests to shock. That’s a good sign. After 5 minutes two ambulances and a firetruck arrive. The firemen take care of the woman. The paramedics take over from John and Wouter and put the man into the ambulance. I call the son of the couple, who lives in the neighbourhood. After his arrival I explain the situation.

Back in the livingroom I hear the man has a pulse again but he has to be rushed to the hospital. The room is one big mess. Stuff laying everywhere, including the used medical things. As much as possible we clean the room with help of the son. The woman can go with her husband in the second ambulance and together with the firemen we escort her to the ambulance. By the way she ask me to give a ticket to a wrongly parked car in front of their garage. Because that started everyhting. She tells me her husband was so mad about this he got his heart attack. I tell her I will do that and wishes her all the best. After the ambulances and the firetruck left I walk toward the car and I start writing a ticket. The owner sees me and comes over. I tell him what happened and that he is going to be fined. Ashamed he accepts the ticket and without saying a word he removes his car. A couple of weeks later I inform with the son who are things going with his father. His father has made a total recovery. What a present !

On 28th February 2011, twelve weeks later, we are visiting the couple. It’s a pleasant reunion. We don’t recognize the man, so healthy in comparison when we first saw him. We get coffee and cake. He tells us how he is feeling and how gratefull he is. His wife also tells her story, including the broken table. We laughed and received the compliments with gratitude. The hollow tablefoot serves now as a plantstand and some of the marble pieces are placed in a bottle as a bittersweet souvenir.

Their son also comes by to thank us.

These are the moments which make you proud being a policeman.

See article: http://www.rotterdam.nl/tekst: demanheeftweereenhartslag


Translated by Paul Bosman

Next story at dec 16