A BEDTIME routine turned into a near-death experience for a Lavington aged care worker earlier this year.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Lyn Groves had collapsed in the bathroom – she was struggling to breathe, minutes away from a cardiac arrest.
Only the barking of her two dogs, Molly and Noah, alerted her husband Rob to the fact that all hell had broken loose.
He sprung into action, calling an ambulance before clearing a path for paramedics.
Meanwhile, his 59-year-old wife continued to quickly deteriorate.
A second call to Triple-0 followed, and within minutes four paramedics had arrived at their Ashford Street home, whisking a now-unconscious Mrs Groves to the Albury hospital.
Paramedic Shane Saunders was one of the four to take care of Mrs Groves that night, and it was he who performed lifesaving CPR on her in the ambulance en route to the hospital.
In the emergency room, it was discovered she had blockages in the blood vessels of both her lungs, starving her of oxygen.
While the clots were quickly dealt with, it took a few weeks in intensive care and a few more of rehab for Mrs Groves to get back on her feet.
Left with almost no recollection of that fateful night, yesterday she was able to meet for the first time the paramedic who saved her life.
“To actually thank them in person is so amazing,” she said. “If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here today.”
It was a new experience for Mr Saunders as well – Monday's meeting was the first time he'd been reunited with a patient.
“We do so many jobs they kind of blur into one, you don't really see them once they get to the hospital,” he said.
“It's really nice to actually see the, because if we see you, chances are it’s the worst day of your life.
“It’s nice to see Lyn and Rob happy and healthy.”
Lyn has since left her job in aged care at the insistence of her 83-year-old mother, who “read (her) the riot act” upon learning she intended to return to the workplace.
Instead, the couple have put together a bucket list, although Mrs Groves isn’t sure she should call it that, considering she says she has already “kicked it” once.
Her daughter Jennifer’s wedding in March is next on the list.
