Many people take first aid and CPR courses, and fortunately, most of them never need to use their training.
David Davis, a retired deputy sheriff, is an exception. He spent 18 years as a first responder and quickly provided first aid on numerous occasions throughout his career. Yet he never had to perform CPR until an emergency at his home—to save his wife.
“It really was just a lazy Sunday,” David said. “Cynthia got up, fed the dog, and we were just relaxing in bed, both playing on our phones. She made a funny noise, and it caught my attention immediately. I asked her if she was alright, and she didn’t respond.”
David realized Cynthia had fallen unconscious, and he immediately called 911 from his phone.
“Her pulse was faint, and she was breathing shallowly. The 911 dispatcher recommended I move her to a hard surface, in case I needed to perform CPR.”
By the time David had moved Cynthia to the floor, her heart had stopped.
“After the incident, I emailed my friends and told them how valuable these ‘toys’ had been to us. We use these devices all the time, but we never thought it would be for something like this.”
David Davis
His first responder training kicked in, and David began performing CPR on his wife. But as he worked to resuscitate her, he realized he needed a way to let the emergency services inside, and he couldn’t afford to stop CPR.
That was when David remembered their Amazon Echo devices.
“I looked up to the Echo Show on the bedside table and said, ‘Alexa, unlock the front door.’ I was able to tell the 911 dispatcher, who was on speaker phone, to tell the first responders that they could come straight into the house,” David said.
Living in a rural, isolated area, David also wanted to know when first responders would arrive. He used the Ring app on his phone to keep an eye on vehicles approaching their home while continuing CPR.
“The first person to arrive was a volunteer firefighter—he arrived in his own car, and I watched on the feed as he ran up our driveway,” David said.
David and the first responders rushed Cynthia to the hospital, and they were able to stabilize her condition. Later, Cynthia’s doctor praised David for his continuous CPR.
“The doctor said that less than 5% of people with her condition make it to the hospital alive. Without continuous CPR, he was certain she wouldn’t have made it,” David said.
Cynthia is back home and on the road to recovery.
“I just want people to know how amazing my husband is,” she said.
Both David and Cynthia also expressed gratitude for the Echo devices and Ring cameras throughout their home, which David said their friends and family joked about in the past, calling them “his toys.”
“After the incident, I emailed my friends and told them how valuable these ‘toys’ had been to us. We use these devices all the time, but we never thought it would be for something like this.”
Learn more about how Alexa is helping people in different ways by watching our Alexa Stories videos.
