GREAT-GRANDMOTHER Gwen-nie Evans was 'brought back from the dead' by the swift action of Welsh Ambulance Service volunteers. The 89-year-old wasn't breathing and there were no signs of life when part-time firemen Aled Lewis and Emyr Evans arrived at her home at 5.30 in the morning. The two are co-responders, part of a Wales-wide network of volunteer lifesavers trained by the Wales Ambulance Service. But after they had given the eld-erly lady an electric shock with the defibrillator machine that first responders are taught to use, she was improving rapidly by the time the ambulance arrived. "Mrs Evans' daughter said to us 'I think you're too late. She's gone' as we walked through the door," said Aled: "We put her on the floor and started CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and Emyr puts the defib pads on her. "It said 'shock advised' and so I shocked her and then we carried on giving her CPR and oxygen. By the time the ambulance crew came she was gasping for breath and now she's made a good recovery." Mrs Evans's son, Dai Lloyd Evans, a county councillor and the former leader of Ceredigion County Coun-cil, paid tribute to the efforts of the volunteers: "If it hadn't been for Aled and Emyr my mother would have died," he said. "We'd given her up for dead. She had gone limp in my sister Eira's arms and she said 'She's dead' but they arrived and they were so quick and so efficient and she came round. "Then the ambulance arrived and Chris Doughty in the ambulance was asking Eira how old my mother was and she couldn't remember what year she was born and my mother said '1917'. "Now she's fine and although she's a bit weak she can walk with a frame. My mother has five chil-dren, 14 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren and they think the world of her and were so pleased they could visit her this Christmas. "She was so pleased to be able to give each one of them a present too and as a family we appreciate greatly the efforts made by everyone. "It shows that the emergency serv-ices are working and working very well." Aled Lewis, 41, a farmer, said: "You don't do the job for money but it's nice when you get a thank you and it shows you are appreci-ated in the community. "Our first job is to put out fires but seven of the 14 retained firemen are trained as co-responders by the Ambulance Service and we have answered quite a few calls. "I farm dairy cattle and sheep, Emyr owns a bus company and drives buses, we come from all walks of life. "We have a V8 Land Rover and we need it to get round some of the lanes round here. When we started off people did take the mickey but now we're accepted and people know we can make a difference and that's a great thing for the commu-nity and for us." The man responsible for training them is Ambulance Service Central and West Region First Responder officer Stephen Roberts and he said: "Specialist training for members of the public in basic life support skills can and does save lives. "The First Responder and Co-responder schemes do not, in any way, replace emergency services but are valuable and important resources which can be vital in the first few minutes of a life-threatening situation."
