Lucas CPR machine for NSW Ambulance

On Australia Day, whilst I was over 8 months pregnant, my boyfriend Colin went into sudden cardiac arrest at home. We were very lucky the ambulance attending carried a Lucas machine, one of only 8 ambulances in all of NSW to do so. 

The Lucas machine is a $15,000 device that automatically performs CPR, or chest compressions, to maintain the circulation of oxygen to the heart and brain - far more effectively than any human can, dramatically increasing a patients chance of survival and reducing the likelihood of brain damage.

Of the 30,000 Australians who suffer a sudden cardiac arrest each year fewer than 10 per cent survive, with 95 per cent of victims dying before they reach hospital. A current trial is seeing an increase in survival rates for refractory cardiac arrests from 5 per cent to 50 per cent when a Lucas machine is used.

I'm pleased to say Colin is now well on his way to making a full recovery. Please help Colin, our families and I raise funds for NSW Ambulance to purchase a 9th Lucas machine and save a few more lives.