ZOLL Medical UK Honours First Aid Workplace Heroes

St John Everyday Heroes Award

Pictured above: Matthew Wright (TV Presenter), Karen Lawrance (lifesaver), Ward Hamilton (Senior Vice President of ZOLL), Diane Fullerton (lifesaver) and Tess Daley (TV presenter). Courtesy of St John Ambulance

26th March 2014 - ZOLL Medical UK teamed up with St John Ambulance for their charity’s star-studded Everyday Heroes Awards ceremony to celebrate members of the community who have gone out of their way to help save a life.

The awards, which were established by St. John Ambulance to celebrate the nation’s life savers, recognized winners across eight categories, including the ZOLL-sponsored category, Workplace Hero.

Honoured this year with the Workplace Hero Award were General Dynamics UK’s Diane Fullerton and Karen Lawrance, who saved the life of Chris McDonald, who was visiting their company when his heart stopped. As trained, on-site first aiders, Diane and Karen quickly realised the seriousness of the situation 33-year-old Chris was facing.

Diane and Karen got the AED Plus^® automated external defibrillator and hurried to where Chris had collapsed. They remained calm and began CPR. The pair used the AED Plus^® to deliver two shocks, keeping Chris alive until the paramedics arrived.

Two days later, Chris regained consciousness and spent three weeks in intensive care. He was later diagnosed with a genetic heart defect, which can cause arrhythmias—irregular heartbeats.

Without the timely intervention of Diane and Karen, and their courage to administer the AED Plus when it was needed, Chris, would certainly have died.

Speaking of the award, Karen said “Everyone here tonight is exceptional. We’ve heard so many incredible stories of people using first aid to save lives. We’re really lucky to have won.”

Watch the St John Ambulance Workplace Hero video.