Family abandons UK move after daughter’s life saved
A family has thanked emergency services for saving their daughter’s life – just an hour and a half before they were due to move to the UK.
In October, Courtney Langlois, 18, stopped breathing and suffered a cardiac arrest.
The efficiency of Guernsey’s emergency services ended up being one of the main reasons the family returned to the island a couple of months later.
The Langlois family had packed up all of their belongings and were having a final lunch at their friend’s house ahead of a
ferry crossing to relocate to England.
‘It was an hour and a half before we had to go down to the boat. I thought it was just a big asthma attack, but when her inhaler wasn’t working, she stood bolt upright and I instantly knew she was going to go down,’ said mum Sarah Langlois.
‘Sarah [Harrison, a friend of the family, who works with Sarah Langlois] had seen it happen from the window, she ran out shouting and screaming and got on the floor to give her CPR.’
Ms Harrison started resuscitation, while someone else called 999, and her partner ran to Beaucette Marina in search of a defibrillator, although it did not end up being needed.
Within five minutes, police and first responders were at the house.
Within 10 minutes there were two more ambulances, more first responders and two fire vehicles.
‘I haven’t done first aid training since school but I got her breathing again by the time the emergency services arrived,’ said Ms Harrison.
‘The teamwork, expertise, and compassion the emergency services demonstrated that day were extraordinary.
‘Guernsey might not be the best place in the world at times, but it’s a lot better than many, especially when it comes to the emergency services.’
The Langlois family had to delay their move to the UK by a week when Courtney was out of hospital.
At that point they did not know that Courtney’s latest medical episode would be a driving force for the family returning home.
‘All of our stuff was packed, my son had the van with all our things ready to go. They went over and unloaded into our house in Stoke-on-Trent, and we followed at the end of the week,’ said Mrs Langlois.
‘After a couple of months we decided to move back. We weren’t happy and Courtney’s health wasn’t good.
‘She was in and out of the doctors and if she had another episode it would have taken two hours for the emergency
services to arrive, not a couple of minutes. An ambulance just wouldn’t had got to us in time over there.’
Courtney has brittle asthma, a rare form of severe asthma, which was diagnosed at 11 months old. She had her first episode eight years ago when her heart stopped and she stopped breathing.
She has yet to be given a full diagnosis.
She said that despite her health affecting her everyday life, being back in Guernsey puts her at ease, knowing that the emergency services would always be there to help her if needed.
