It was unusual, but net net she wasn't going to die from some compressions, even if I had given it everything I had. I figure she did what she did - what if I had overestimated m'y wife's breathing or color, she would be without oxygen that much longer? The 911 operator is on the phone 7 miles away, better to get my wife to the floor etc.

It's interesting to think, nothing I did helped to save my wife's life in anyway, short of dialling 911. Either way, may the gods bless the 911 system too - when things calm down a little, they get a fruit basket or something in thanks as well.

I've been there, with my first child at the age of 6 months(She's 11 now). When it really counts, Training DOES kick in. We had just recertified for CPR at my Firehouse 2 nights before I had to act. I hope she's ok.
Good Job.
Matthew

How scary, Lono! Kudos to you for being relatively calm and effective in such a stressful situation. Best wishes to you and your wife as you proceed with a diagnosis.

My sister gave her husband a terrible scare a few years ago when, in the middle of the night, she had a seizure resulting in hospitalization.

The doctors traced her seizure back to a terrible traffic accident she'd suffered twenty years prior that resulted in head injuries and a broken neck.

Apparently it's not uncommon for a head injury -- auto, sports-related or whatever -- to spur seizures more than a decade later. The docs speculated that my sister's head injury history (which left calcium deposits on her brain), fatigue, Sudafed and a prescription medication combined to trigger her first seizure. She subsequently had a couple more seizures and is now on anti-seizure medication and has not had another recurrence.

Again, my regards to both of you.

Lono,

Best wishes to you and your wife. My son had a seizure a few months back that led the babysitter to believe he was not breathing (I wrote about it on here as well) and it was one of the most terrifying experiences I have been through.

It sounds like you kept your head and were able to put aside your fear and emotions and do what needed to be done, so good job.

I agree, however, that it might be worthwhile to follow-up on why the dispatcher insisted you start compressions. My only thought is that if you mentioned on the phone that you had done a finger sweeep, perhaps the dispatcher latched onto an unconcious/airway obstruction protocol, which might indeed call for immediate compressions.

And don't discount the role you played. You recognized that there was a problem, called for help, and managed the situation until help arrived. I'm sure your wife is very appreciative of your efforts!

Again, best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Jesselp

911 operators aren't paramedics. They also don't know what you know (or don't) and they can't see what is going on. They are used to dealing with the lowest denominator. I would assume they operate like the Pakistani computer 'techs' you get on the phone: type in problem, speak protocol.

I was with a couple when she went into a grand mal epileptic seizure. Her husband whipped out his handkerchief, folded it a bit more than it was, and wedged a corner of it between her back teeth on one side. He said she had bitten her tongue very badly during one seizure. I had heard this before -- is it still a good idea?

Lono, from something I saw several times as a vet tech, your light compressions may have had an effect. Once in a while we would get a dog or cat that would kind of 'forget' to breathe while under anesthesia. Unless they were less tolerant of the drug, it wasn't likely that they were given too much (my vet was extremely careful about that). I would be monitoring the animal while the doctor was doing the surgery, and I would warn him that it had stopped breathing. He would stop as quickly as he could (clamp if necessary, then raise his hands), and I would give the dog or cat just one or two compressions of the rib cage, and they would start breathing normally again. This may have been what you did, just a kind of reminder?

Sue