The night hours were difficult, but Mark Waterman looks back with satisfaction on last weekend’s resuscitation marathon in Grootebroek. 24 hours full of visitors and resuscitation groups, with the aim of familiarizing as many people as possible with resuscitation, and to recognize and recognize complaints due to heart failure in women at an earlier stage. “We wanted to keep going until we dropped.”
“It has meant a lot to me,” says chairman Mark Waterman of EHBO Stede Broec. “There were so many lovely people who came to watch, learn CPR and help with the catering or other handyman services. All in all we had a great weekend.”
The 24-hour resuscitation marathon was held at the Stede Broec First Aid building. The first group started on Saturday at noon, and the participants tried to resuscitate for as long as possible. One of the dolls ended up being reanimated the entire time. A second doll was taken outside by the Rescue Brigade and was resuscitated in one of the boats for a long time.
“Things went really well until 1 a.m., with a constant ‘full house’ in the building. After that, things deteriorated considerably until there were finally only three of us left,” says Waterman. “We had a hard time then. But we wanted to keep going until we dropped.”
The text continues below this photo report of the resuscitation marathon:
Although there were occasional ‘butt squeezes’ at night due to few participants, the number of participants and visitors increased yesterday morning at 6 a.m. That also brought a lot of new energy. Towards the end of the marathon, the building in Grootebroek filled up with interested parties and the last resuscitation groups. “Everyone wanted to see the end.”
The one who ultimately resuscitated the longest was Jamie Dik. In total he performed CPR for 2 hours and 17 minutes. “He kept going non-stop, and all the while his attitude and rhythm were perfect. Out of respect for what we do, he kept going. He really is a true hero, because of what he did. Really not normal!”
A resuscitation team in Heerenveen was also invited to participate in the marathon. They were enthusiastic about the idea and came to Grootebroek with about fifteen members to participate. “Because of an unpleasant situation in their department, it made such a difference in them that they completely said ‘yes’ to the invitation,” says Mark. “They have promised to hold their own resuscitation marathon in Heerenveen next year. Then we will go there with a group from Grootebroek.”
Complaints in women due to heart failure
The resuscitation marathon has not yet yielded any new volunteers for the Stede Broec First Aid. But according to Waterman, this was not the aim of this marathon. “This was purely to draw attention to the importance of resuscitation education. And also in particular to better recognize and recognize heart failure in women.”
If a woman suffers from complaints, this is often linked to complaints associated with menopause or menstruation. “While in many cases there may be heart failure,” says Mark. “As care providers, we do not always realize that complaints can be caused by heart failure. It is very important that we recognize and acknowledge this earlier. And that women are more likely to sound the alarm to a doctor if they experience complaints that can be caused by heart failure.”