Maria saves a life

Massive congratulations to Maria Haralambis (pictured centre) who received a Save a Life Award from St Johns and was nominated for Volunteer of the Year award for her work as a volunteer first aid officer at this year’s City to Surf. Maria saved the life of her friend and fellow St Johns volunteer when he had a cardiac arrest.

This is her account of how it feels to save a life, and why everyone should learn first aid.

“It was really hot this year for the City to Surf, and they ran out of water. We had multiple collapsed people where Chris and I were stationed as volunteer first aid officers with St Johns. It was a busy day.

Suddenly and without warning Chris collapsed and had no pulse. At the time of his cardiac arrest we were working on another person who had collapsed, but he had a pulse. Chris didn’t have a pulse, so I had to prioritise.

It was the first time I had performed CPR and used a defibrillator on a real person, with bystander help, and it was the first time I saved a person’s life. It was harder because I was working on someone who I am a colleague with and who is a friend. You hear people say it’s more stressful to save someone you know, and I believe this is true!

There was no time to react, my training kicked in and I knew it would come down to minutes and seconds. The reason Chris is alive today, isn’t paralysed and doesn’t have brain damage is because I had a defibrillator close by and knew how to use it. There is a lot of luck involved in surviving a cardiac arrest like that. Chris and I were lucky that day.

Would Chris survive?

Chris had a triple bypass, and in the first few weeks after the accident we didn’t know if he was going to live. During that time the support from St Johns was excellent. First aid volunteers are a team, and I was cared for by the team.

Chris did survive, but I didn’t know if I could continue volunteering. It was a scary time for me, I didn’t know what the next day would bring. It took a while, but I knew I needed to go back to volunteering with St Johns. I had to.

We have an ethical responsibility

Saving Chris’s life was life changing for me and has made me even more sure that learning first aid is important for everyone. I believe we have an ethical responsibility to help people if they are in a bad situation, it doesn’t matter if you know them or not.

Volunteering with St Johns is free, and they have great trainers. You can also focus on areas you’re interested in mental health for example or child safety.

I’ve been volunteering for eight years, and I’ve never stopped learning. It doesn’t matter how old a person is, there is always time to learn and give back to the community. My son volunteers with St Johns juniors and he is nine.

Fear got me started

When my son was a baby, he had asthma, and I didn’t know how to help him if there was an emergency. I was scared so I volunteered at St Johns. I wanted to be able to protect my family, but I also wanted to be able to help others if I could. If someone is in trouble and you don’t know what to do, you’re no help.

It’s important for everyone to learn first aid skills. You don’t know when you’re going to need it. It could be your family, someone you work with, or even a stranger. You don’t know when you’re going to need it to save a life.

Maria second on left and Chris on left

Maria with her St Johns Save a Life award

Maria with her Volunteer of the Year nomination