www.MatrixForMe.

com

Recently, NP Maureen lost her beloved Mother-in-Law. During the viewing,
much to her shock, a commotion began across room and someone called out,
Is there a doctor here?! As a former ICU nurse, Maureen ran to the area and
found a group of mourners around her brother-in-law. He didnt seem to be
breathing!

Maureen said, I took charge of the situation, cleared the area and followed
American Heart Association protocol. After I assessed him for breathing and
found nothing, I gave the first breath. It didn't go in! I repositioned his head
and thankfully air started to flow into his lungs. After finding no pulse, I then
began CPR.

Fortunately, another family member trained in CPR came to her assistance
and took over compressions as they are very tiring for one person to continue
doing alone. I continued rescue breathing until I felt my brother-in-law gasp
and take a deep breath. Miraculously, my quick action brought him back in
less than one minute! I continued to monitor his breathing and pulse until the
emergency service team arrived.

Later, I learned the cause of the sudden respiratory failure was
hypomagnesaemia, otherwise known as low magnesium.

She receive a note a few days later from her brother-in-law thanking her. He
said "your quick action and control of the situation saved my life".

This event reinforced the importance of core skills and knowledge for all
providers. Keep your CPR skills honed, carry a mask or respiratory barrier at
all times. Remember that low magnesium can be deadly.