A 20-year-old Stevenage woman who gave her boyfriend a literal kiss of life when he collapsed and went into cardiac arrest has been hailed “a true hero”.
Georgia Groom performed CPR on Jack Norman, also 20, when he stopped breathing at their home – collapsing on the floor in the early hours of Thursday, minutes after waking up breathless and asking Georgia to call an ambulance.
Georgia said: “As you can imagine, I thought I had lost my boyfriend.”
Georgia called 999 and gave CPR to Jack – who has asthma, and whose heart was not beating.
Paramedics got to the house after 10 minutes and rushed Jack to hospital, where a doctor said that if Georgia had left Jack for 30 seconds longer he may have died.
Jack told the Comet: “If she didn’t act as quickly as she did, I probably wouldn’t be here. She saved my life at the end of the day.
“It was a very eye-opening experience I wouldn’t wish on anyone, and I don’t take life for granted.”
Now Georgia wants to raise awareness of how important it is to able to perform CPR.
“We are not taught CPR at school,” she said. “Why?
“I learned this through other ways – however, if I hadn’t, I don’t bear to think about what could have happened.
“CPR is most likely the easiest thing for someone to learn. Although our medical system are brilliant, you don’t need to be a paramedic to save a life. I could never, ever, ever have been able to live with myself if I didn’t know how to resuscitate him.”
Jack and Georgia have been together for 18 months, and just moved in together. If not for that, Jack would have been in the house alone – as his mum Victoria, stepdad Matt and 13-year-old sister Isabella were away in Spain at the time.
Victoria is grateful beyond words to Georgia for saving Jack.
“She called an ambulance and, completely on her own in our house, performed CPR – for which she had never had any training,” said Victoria.
“Her actions saved my son’s life. She showed courage and bravery, and her ability to remain calm shows a true hero.
“I couldn’t get home as flights were delayed, and was in a state in another country – which is every mother’s worst nightmare.
“She kept me informed the whole time. I definitely would be grieving my son if it wasn’t for her.
“I would like for her to be acknowledged for the hero she is. I can never repay her.”
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