Polly will be recognised as a 'CPR hero' in London.
A golden retriever who helped save the life of his owner, Adam, who suffered a cardiac arrest will be honoured at a prestigious award ceremony.
Four-year-old Polly’s barking woke Adam’s wife, Hannah, who performed life-saving CPR and contacted the emergency services.
Both Polly and Hannah will be celebrated at the British Heart Foundation’s Heart Hero Awards, taking place in London tonight (25 November). The star-studded event takes place at the Bloomsbury Ballroom and will see Polly and Hannah receive ‘CPR Heroes’ awards for their actions.
Hannah, 33, describes how she was awoken in the middle of the night by Polly’s barking:
“Polly would bark the odd time if she hears anything as she sleeps in the kitchen which is directly below our bedroom," she said. "She’s very in tune with Adam, and when she barks I usually turn to Adam to tell him. That’s when I suddenly realised he was breathing very noisily.
“When I heard the noise Adam was making I sat bolt upright in bed as I previously worked as a carer and it hit me that it was the same noise I’ve heard when people are taking their final breaths.”
Hannah added: “Polly alerted me, possibly within seconds of Adam’s cardiac arrest, she was the first responder. Because of her, I was able to start CPR almost immediately. The paramedics and first responders were amazing, they arrived so quickly and took action immediately.”
The paramedics worked tirelessly, shocking Adam seven times between his house and the hospital before they could get his heart rate normalised. He woke up six days later in hospital.
A keen runner, Adam was just 37 years old when he suffered his cardiac arrest. He spent three and a half weeks in hospital before he was fitted with an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator) and discharged.
Adam said: “When I was in hospital, we enquired about bringing Polly in but there was a no dogs policy. However, from my room I could see out onto the grass, so my dad would bring Polly and his boxer dog Xena up and show them where I was. Seeing them both really lifted my spirits.
“When I got out of hospital, I’ll never forget seeing Polly again and knowing how she had intervened that night. I just cuddled her and cried for 20 minutes”.
Adam and Hannah say the experience has given them “a new perspective” and a “second chance of life”, and are delighted to be welcoming their second child next year.
Fearghal McKinney, head of British Heart Foundation said: “This wonderful family and what they’ve been through are exactly what the Heart Hero awards are about and demonstrates the importance of life-saving CPR and defibrillation. If Polly hadn’t barked, Hannah hadn’t woken, then the outcome of this story could potentially have been entirely different.”
He added: “And now they’re celebrating a new life together, what a privilege it is to be able to honour both Hannah and Polly’s incredible actions with a CPR hero award.”
Image (C) British Heart Foundation.
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