The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Twin sisters who fought in vain to save their father’s life have today launched a campaign aimed at celebrating the work of Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service’s (LIVES) First Responders.
Nicola and Louise O’Connor, from Gosberton, performed CPR on their dad last year after he was found unresponsive. Sadly, their efforts were not enough to save him.
Nicola said: “I got on the phone to 999, Mum just hugged him, Louise came around. We realised actually he was still warm, there’s something we might be able to do.”
Louise said: “I think if we didn’t have the LIVES training we wouldn’t have done what we did because we wouldn’t have had the confidence.
“We’re so grateful that LIVES has given us that confidence to be able to give Dad that chance.”
Now the sisters are backing LIVES Everyday Heroes Week, with a personal video explaining why they choose to volunteer as First Responders – volunteers based in local communities who are trained to deliver timely life-saving interventions.
Louise said: “LIVES means so much to us that we make time to respond, at the weekends and at evenings – it gives us a way to give back to the community and we love what we do. We want to help anybody, if we can save a life then that’s brilliant.”
LIVES’ chief executive officer Nikki Silver said: “Louise and Nicola are absolute heroes. Not only have they been brave enough to share their story but they are so committed to helping people in their community.
“They are just two of our 700+ volunteers all across Lincolnshire helping more than 20,000 people a year. We’re incredibly proud and want to celebrate them through Everyday Heroes week.”
During the campaign, the charity will be holding a number of events, such as extraction demonstrations with Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue, taking place on Saturday at St Marks in Lincoln, as well as activities for all ages such as face painting, bake sales, and competitions.
Watch Nicola and Louise’s full story here.
