Family's thanks to North West Air Ambulance for saving life of Erin, seven

A Fylde family has wished an emotional thank you to the air ambulance crew who saved their young daughter’s life.
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Erin Garstang was left fighting for her life at just seven years old in August 2020 after collapsing at her home in Ansdell.

When her mother Clair realised that she wasn’t breathing, she quickly performed CPR and alerted the emergency services.

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The North West Air Ambulance joined the road ambulance in rushing to the scene with helicopter emergency medical services critical care paramedic Mark Etherington intervening to save Erin’s life.

Erin Garstang is now happily back at home and school in AnsdellErin Garstang is now happily back at home and school in Ansdell
Erin Garstang is now happily back at home and school in Ansdell
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Celebrating 21 years of North West Air Ambulance

During months-long treatment at Alder Hey, Erin was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a device similar to a pacemaker, and the cayse ofg her initial collpase was diagnosed as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), a genetic condition is characterized by an abnormal heart rhythm, for which Clair and Rob, Erin’s father, are now being tested.

Due to Covid restrictions, Clair and Rob were unable to join Erin on the ward, camping out in the Alder Hey car park until they were able to see their daughter again. They made the difficult decision to stay away from Erin’s sisters, Jess and Lucy, so that they could continue to visit Erin while she underwent treatment.

Clair said: “It’s difficult to explain the panic that I felt when Erin collapsed.

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“I just knew that something was wrong straight away and jumped into action to try to help her.

“Even when the first responder arrived, it wasn’t clear what was happening, but the relief of hearing the air ambulance and the way they reassured us that everything would be okay, is something I’ll never forget.

“Without them, I’m not sure she would have made the recovery she did. They saved her life.

“Being apart from her sisters was hard for Erin, especially as they’re usually joined at the hip, but they were able to keep in touch with plenty of video calls. Once she was finally able to leave the ward, she was doing cartwheels on the grass outside the hospital.

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“On the Monday after her ICD was fitted, her sisters were back at school after the summer holidays and by the Thursday, Erin had joined them. Her recovery has been miraculous.”

Since Erin’s collapse, the Garstangs have been busy fundraising to say thank you to the charity that saved her life.

Erin cut off and donated her hair to the Little Princess Trust, raising money for NWAA in the process.

Those funds were matched by Beaverbrooks, who Rob works for, coming to £3,000 with plans to raise more. Beaverbrooks has also since donated a defibrillator to Erin’s school, Ansdell Primary.

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Mark Etherington said: “Working alongside our colleagues at North West Ambulance Service, we were able to provide Erin with life-saving treatment at the scene. Every second in a situation like Erin’s counts, so following the quick actions of her mum in administering CPR, receiving this treatment gave Erin a fighting chance.

“We think Erin is a star and we are really grateful for raising such a huge amount of money to help us provide vital treatment to others.”

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