Death is a hard thing to witness, I had to do so myself a few times working in the hospital, but you did all you could. The pain of witnessing this will fade in time, and you will be ok, but the memory will stay so I hope you can take solace in knowing you did your best and were brave in the face of a very tragic situation.
You did a wonderful job. You all did.
I’m so sorry that there wasn’t a good outcome. I hope you can find comfort in the knowledge that you did everything you could do for him.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be asymptomatic until the person does just “drop dead” as it were. So while your comment would still be technically true even in these cases, the lay person’s observation of “perfectly healthy” would probably be characteristic of outward appearance of health, not ‘actual’ health.
I am taking CPR/AED/First Aid this semester and it is, by far, the most useful class I have ever taken. I don’t know if I’ll ever be called on to use CPR but I take comfort in the fact that I know how. It may not work as often as we like it to but if it gives even one faint glimmer of a chance, it’s completely worth getting certified.
And that goes for you, too. Obviously it’s a different shock and loss, but you’ve been through quite a bit, too. Don’t be afraid to ask for help dealing with that if you need it.
You did everything right, straight out of the textbook. Good job. Thank you.
You did exactly the right things in the right order. You got CPR started. You attempted to allocate tasks and bring in assistance. Then, when higher level care arrived, you did the best thing possible- you worked with HW.
It will be of little solace I suspect, but I will share this fact with you. It was told to me by an insanely experienced Paramedic. ( 20+ years in the field ). Over 98 % of all field CPR attempts fail. Especially manual CPR. The AED likely would have failed to revive anyway but after so much time the asystole had really done a job.
I respect your intense efforts and certainly grieve with you for the lost person you touched, and tried to help.
PM me if it will help, we can talk further.
Allow me to offer my thanks for jumping in, keeping a level head, and doing what you could for them.
You did very well.
The story brings me back to when I once witnessed an accident where a little girl got hit. I did first aid and got her breathing again, but she later died in the hospital.
While that was happening the mother showed up and was naturally hysterical.
It was surprising how hard that was afterward when I found out that she had died. Someone you don’t know, but despite your best effort, it couldn’t be helped.
Kalea, you did everything you could. Sometimes that’s not good enough.
I’ve done CPR on many people over the years. I lost the first one I cranked on and it upset me greatly. I won the last one - he was ticking when they loaded him into the ambulance. I’m about 70-30 in the win column.
Good on ya, girl.
Just wanted to chime in with the rest of the people saying you did good; being faced with this kind of situation is amazingly stressful and difficult for everyone concerned, but you did everything you could do.
I was involved in the rescue of a friend of a friend who had gone swimming in a lake and drowned, and we did CPR on him for 45 mins all the way to the hospital - he didn’t make it. About a year later, I had to take a refresher on a first-aid course and couldn’t bring myself to do CPR on the dummy because of the memories. I also put the experience down on a virtual piece of paper, and that was really helpful; as was talking to people. Seeing someone die in front of you is always hard, and I have the deepest respect for all the EMTs who do this on a regular basis and still manage to keep it together.
This.
Last summer, my wife’s uncle died. He was out for his daily walk when he suddenly collapsed. This was witnessed by someone else on the street who called 911 and began CPR. It wasn’t enough to save his life, but the fact that someone was there and gave David the best shot he had was a tremendous comfort to my wife and her mother (David’s sister) as well as to the rest of the family during the grieving process.
Being there and helping this man in his time of need (and it sounds like you did a lot for him) was a truly great act on your (and the others) part(s).
It isn’t easy to overcome the uncertainty and dread and actually HELP in a situation like that. Almost everyone freezes up. I spent a lot of years responding to emergencies as an EMT, and one of the things you can count on the most is that nobody will be doing CPR before the medics arrive. It’s a pretty unusual and brave thing for someone without the confidence of actually being in the medical field to jump in and start CPR without a professional telling them to.
I’m sorry you couldn’t save him, but the outcome you had is pretty much standard for that situation. You did a very good thing.
I’ve only read half the thread, and I don’t have time to read all of it right now; but I wanted to say that this thread has prompted me to order a pair of Ambu masks (one for adults, the other for infants). It’s been 20 years since I held an EMT certificate, but I think I can remember how to do CPR. (And I’ll look into re-taking CPR training when I have a chance.) I carry an REI Backpacker First Aid Kit in my car and the Jeep. It’s fairly well-equipped for a basic kit, and a lot better than the J&J one in the plastic box I used virtually all of when someone was injured on a film shoot. The Ambu mask will make a nice addition, just in case.
As carnut said, CPR works less often than people think. The outcome in the OP is the usual one. But you still have to try.
I hope that if something like this were to happen to me, I’d be able to respond as bravely as you did. 
You’re right of course. According to her husband she never had any health problems. She obviously had something she didn’t know about. So sad.
How does blood in the abdominal cavity (from the ruptured aneurysm) make its way into the digestive tract or respiratory tract so as to appear in vomit?
Aggressive chest compressions. There is no dainty way to compress the heart and lungs and diaphragm. If you’re going to be dainty don’t do it at all. If there’s blood that’s coming up in reflux, you may well have it ejected up through the esophagus into the lower pharynx. There it will come up as the force of the compressions moves the ribcage, lungs, diaphragm and other areas up and down.
As an aside the NYS Dept of Health protocols changed a few years ago. Apparently CPR is 50:1 ratio of Compressions to Blowing In. It’s much much more effective to use one’s body weight to make the diaphragm rise and fall ( and in doing so bring in oxygen ) than it is to try to blow air into a diaphram/ lung system that’s at rest.
Not surprising to hear that blood was mingled with the vomit.
Johnny L.A., you’ve inspired me to do the same.
Egads. What a horrible thing to have to witness, for everyone, including HW. She may not remember your face, but even in her grief, I’m sure she’s grateful for your assistance and kindness.
I’ve been meaning to volunteer with St John Ambulance (a group that supplies both volunteer first aiders for events and training, in the UK) for ages. This prompted me to finally send in an application.
Anybody can die suddenly from a cardiac arrhythmia
People can die suddenly of a pulmonary embolism with no outward signs of ill health too.