Relatives of a two-month-old baby from Orihuela Costa saved her life on Christmas Eve with the help of a nurse from the CICU (Emergency Information and Coordination Centre) who, by telephone, gave them the necessary instructions to deal with a cardiorespiratory arrest which the little girl was suffering.
The family members managed to resuscitate the little girl from cardiorespiratory arrest after several exercises.
The CICU received the emergency call at 11 p.m. on Christmas Eve when the family requested assistance for their two-month-old daughter who, according to the explanation of the caller, was in cardiorespiratory arrest. The call was made from a home in Orihuela Costa, where the little girl had choked while she was drinking milk.
CICU mobilised a SAMU unit while nurse Marta Martínez gave the necessary telephone instructions to the baby’s relatives on how to perform basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
During the telephone conversation, the relatives advised the nurse that they were in their car travelling to the Torrevieja Hospital, which was only a short distance away. The SAMU ambulance was deactivated as the nurse continued giving instructions during the journey.
As they had completed between three and four cycles of the manoeuvres, the girl began to cry. At that point they were pulling into the hospital car park. The nurse continued with them on the phone until they had entered the accident and emergency room.
Once there, the baby was assisted by hospital staff who they told that the girl had choked on a bottle of baby milk. Shortly afterwards, following a thorough examination, the baby was given all clear and she was happily discharged, in good health.
The nurse, Marta Martínez, explained that she had instructed the family to do “five mouth, mouth-nose rescue ventilations, given that the child was only two months old.” She instructed them to apply a little pressure to her chest, with just two fingers, and after 15 compressions to do two ventilations again through the mouth and mouth-nose.
Martínez was delighted to hear over the phone that the girl was crying after being revived by her relatives, who told her that she was breathing and conscious. “At that point I told them to continue stimulating the baby and let her cry,” she said.
In describing the experience as the worst of their lives, the family said how “the whole family was super grateful for the instructions, the resuscitation and how everything had gone.” Nurse Martinez said that “the most important thing was that they listened carefully to the orders, which they carried out perfectly, the result was excellent,” she explained excitedly.
The CICU confirmed that, once 112 is called, even if basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation technique is not known, a telephone protocol is activated by the CICU, through which either the coordinating doctors or the nurses give instructions, which are vital in the first minutes of cardiac arrest.
In addition, on the SESCV (Health Emergency Service of the Valencian Community) website, there is an advice section, which anybody can consult at any time.
