Woman saves her husband's life by performing CPR on him after his heart stopped beating for 40 minutes

Learning how to do CPR actually saves lives, and this couple's story is proof enough. Saroj Khadka's heart stopped suddenly, but fortunately for him, his wife Sarah knew exactly what to do to save him. While she was on the phone with emergency services, she performed chest compressions on him, and he can never thank her enough. Here's what happened.

Saroj Khadka's heart stopped beating for nearly an hour

A coach driver from Kent, Saroj Khadka, was enjoying a week off from work in October 2018. One day, after going to the gym, he went home to have lunch with his wife before joining a friend to go fishing. However, after they had lunch, he started to feel ill. His wife advised him to lie down for a bit, and he took an indigestion tablet. Sarah, who was working from home, suddenly heard a noise and went to check on her husband. She explains:

I went to investigate and found Saroj out cold on the bathroom floor.

Saroj was unconscious and his eyes were rolled back. Sarah immediately called 999 and the responder talked her through the procedure. After asking her several questions to assess her husband's condition, he told her to start chest compressions. She says:

I’d learned CPR as a Girl Guide, but that was 40 years before. I’d never done it on a person.

She performed CPR on her husband and saved his life

Sarah performed CPR for ten minutes, leaving her feeling exhausted as it is very physically challenging. She told Express:

I started to get really tired and the call handler was wonderful. I was probably hysterical but he was firm and clear, counting and keeping me going, letting me know help was nearby.

While many people believe the goal of CPR is to restart the heart, this is not the case, although it can happen. Instead, it allows the person's heart to beat enough to keep them alive, before medics can come and help.

Emergency services arrived on the scene and took over from Sarah. They managed to restart his heart on the way to the hospital, at which point Saroj's heart had stopped beating for about 40 minutes. His chances of surviving were at 1%. At the hospital, Saroj managed to pull through despite his slim chances, and a punctured lung caused by the CPR. He spent 53 days in a coma before he was finally able to go home. Saroj explains:

Sometimes I shut my eyes and try to remember, but I can’t. It feels like a dream. I’ve been able to keep the nurses’ diaries from the time, along with cards from friends and family. I read them later on and it was so emotional, but it really did help me with my recovery.

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Source used:

Express: My heart stopped for 40 minutes - this is how my wife kept me alive