A junior doctor sprang into action to help save an elderly man’s life – just hours before her first shift.
Bonnie Boyle, 26, recently moved to Glasgow from Belfast and was driving around to familiarise herself with the city before her first shift at Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
But she got lost and stopped at a shopping centre to get her bearings when an eldery man collapsed nearby after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Bonnie rushed over and began performing CPR – the first time the juniour medic had ever carried it out on a real patient.
The man, believed to be in his late 70s, early 80s, had turned blue by the time Bonnie reached him, but her fast actions saved his life.
She said she didn’t know if it was luck or divine intervention – but hoped it was a good omen for her future career.
Bonnie said: “In the walkway between all the shops, this gentleman had fallen backwards, so I saw it happening.
“I think he was probably late 70s, early 80s.
“He wasn’t with anyone but there were people around.
“He had gone blue and there were kids around that were quite upset.
“It did take me a couple of seconds before I realised ‘oh yeah, I’m a doctor now’, so I went over and was just assessing the situation.
“There were two security guards there and another guy, so we called an ambulance and checked where the nearest defibrillator was.
“There were three of us recycling chest compressions.
“I’ve never given CPR in real life, just on the dummies they give us.
“Then he started to come around and we continued with the CPR until the paramedics came and they took him away on a gurney.
“I don’t know how he is but we have always been told that nine out of ten cardiac arrests die.
“Even in hospital you rarely ever get one that can be brought back so he was very lucky.
“I don’t know if it was luck or some sort of divine intervention.”
The man regained consciousness and was taken to hospital for treatment from the Lochs Shopping Centre in Easterhouse, and is said to be recovering well.
Bonnie, who said she had been feeling nervous about her first shift at the hospital on August 5, added: “I hope it is a good omen.
“When I was going into it I was thinking this is going to be a really bad start to the day if it doesn’t go well.
“I was feeling quite nervous that morning about the first shift and being the only person in charge of people, but when something like that happens the rest of the day can only get better.”
Proud mum Diane, 56, said she ‘couldn’t believe’ her daughter had to carry out CPR on her first day.
Diane, a mum-of-two, said: “Bonnie called me straight afterwards.
“When I spoke to her the adrenaline was going, I couldn’t believe that happened on her first day – you couldn’t write it.
“She did a great job, it wouldn’t have been a good first day if she hadn’t.”