Annika had a cardiac arrest – was saved by two strangers

Annika was out for a walk when she suddenly got short of breath and couldn’t lift her legs.
She tried to get back to the car but after only a few steps she collapsed, her heart having stopped beating.
– I just remember seeing the dirt road coming towards my face, she says.

It was a cold and raw January day earlier this year that Annika was out for a walk when her heart suddenly stopped beating. What she remembers before collapsing is that she feels very short of breath and has difficulty lifting her legs. Tommy and his wife Jessica walk right behind her.

– Annika is about 50 meters in front of me. Then she stops, I think she first looks up at the trees, then she collapses. Then I call my wife and say: “now she’s probably going to die,” says Tommy.

Can’t feel a pulse

Tommy and Jessica run up to Annika immediately. Tommy calls the ambulance via the 112 app while Jessica looks for signs of life.

– I feel for a pulse and pat her on the cheek, but nothing. Her lips are turning blue, says Jessica.

Without having spoken to each other, the couple act immediately and Jessica begins cardiopulmonary resuscitation while Tommy updates the emergency services about her condition via the phone.

Full focus

Despite Annika’s heart stopping, she remembers hearing Tommy and Jessica. “I hear someone say come on,” says Annika. It takes twelve minutes until the ambulance comes and takes over. Meanwhile, Tommy and Jessica are only focused on one thing.

– That she wouldn’t go away. That we would make it, says Tommy.

Didn’t know how it went

The ambulance arrives at the scene and gets Annika’s pulse started after two attempts with a defibrillator. The last thing Tommy and Jessica see of Annika is when the doors to the ambulance close. After that, they don’t get to know anything until seven months later.

– I wrote a wanted post on Facebook and asked if anyone knew who she might be. It took two days, then I get a message from Annika where she wrote that it was me you saved. Then the tears flowed, says Jessica.

“My Heroes”

After the message on Facebook, they decide to meet. The meeting becomes very emotional for all three and Annika tells how grateful she is that they acted so quickly and managed to save her life.

– I have been given a new life. I got to wake up one more day and many more, you are my heroes. It will be a special friendship, she says.