Standing between life and death

It was 1:00 am, all she could hear was the ticking of the clock as she saw the love of her life unconscious in front of her. Shivering from head to toe, she waited impatiently for the ambulance to arrive. It seemed like ages ago that she had called the ambulance to tell that her husband had collapsed in front of her. She was so shocked that she did not even inform anyone else about what had happened.

It was 2:00 am by the time the ambulance arrived. They immediately started the CPR and rushed him to the hospital. She went along, praying that he would recover, but her hopes were shattered when she found out in the hospital that he was no more, He had died from a Cardiac Arrest.

Her whole life fell crumbling on the floor.

It has been 1 year now, she still feels the guilt, the regret of how she could have done something in that 1 hour that could have saved his life. If only, she knew about cardiac arrest, if only she knew how to perform Cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she could have maybe made a difference for her husband who had been standing between life and death at that moment.

A fictional story, but many can relate to it. Cardiac Arrest happens when the heart stops beating. It is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. In developing nations like Pakistan, where resources are limited, the cardiac arrest has zero survival rate.  Timely intervention is the key which could save many lives and the regret that so many people have in their hearts.

- HAFSA BADAR, MBBS