A defibrillator mounted on Everest saved the life of a French mountaineer: “It's the most amazing thing I have ever done”
Alpinists approaching the top of Mount Everest. Photo: Kunga Sherpa / AP / Profimedia
David Sullivan, a British who set up the Creating Lifesvers organization, has mounted the device at an altitude of approximately 6,096 meters, within a project meant to provide emergency medical help, according to the BBC. His initiative made the difference between life and death, recently, in the case of a climber.
“At 4 o'clock in the morning my phone rang. I thought it was one of my children, but the message came from a snake (Montan ethnic guide Sherpa, specialized in high altitudes in Himalaya n. Red.) Located at 6,000 meters altitude on Everest,” Sullivan told the BBC. “Yes, I cried with happiness. Our defibrillator was used to save the life of a young Frenchman.”
According to Pemba, the snake who contacted Sullivan, a young man from the Netherlands identified the defibrillator and used with the help of an Austrian climber. The young woman, Cecile, was later transported to a hospital in Kathmandu, where she is now recovering.
David Sullivan believes that the episode shows how important it is to have more defibrillators in the world. “This makes every step on Everest be the most amazing thing I have ever done. To know that I have saved this young woman's life is an incredible feeling,” he said.
During the stay in Nepal, Sullivan organized several resuscitation courses and donated medical equipment to communities without access to such services.
Returning to the UK now, he aims to expand the activity of the Creating Lifesat organization and to launch, from September, a first aid course in schools.
David Sullivan founded the organization seven years ago, after losing four close friends, all under 46, due to heart problems.
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