A man from Surrey in England who installed a defibrillator on Everest at an altitude of 16,400ft (5,000m) has "shed tears of joy" after hearing it was used to save the life of a French female climber.
David Sullivan received the news via a phone call from a sherpa that the defibrillator had been used successfully. He told the BBC it made the climb to install it the "most amazing thing I've ever done".
A man from the Netherlands apparently saw the defibrillator during the medical emergency and used it, with the help of an Austrian climber, on the French climber.
It was only last month, on April 12, that David, founder of Code Blue CPR, embarked on the groundbreaking expedition to carry the defibrillator to Mount Everest. During his trip he trained more than 260 Nepalese locals, sherpas and foreign climbers in CPR and how to use the defibrillator. He also made a bid for the Guinness World Record highest altitude CPR training. The record is currently going through the verification process.
Incredibly, David became an accidental CPR specialist when he had a life-changing experience helping save a young man’s life on a golf course. He performed CPR for nine minutes and used a defibrillator. Thirty people watched him perform CPR that day and, after relaying the story to a friend, he was invited to defibrillator manufacturer Philips' headquarters in Vienna, Austria, to train as a resuscitation expert.
Since then he has been working to spread lifesaving knowledge in the UK and beyond, spurred on also by the fact he tragically lost four close friends, all under the age of 46, to cardiac arrest.
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David said he wanted "to put defibrillators where they are most needed instead of having to have a power supply" and, with the help of son Freddie, developed a groundbreaking cabinet that could withstand cold temperatures. The cabinet uses advanced materials, sometimes found on space missions, to keep defibrillators at an optimal temperature, even in extreme conditions, without power.
"This innovation allows us to place defibrillators in remote locations, such as mountains and forests, ensuring they are ready for emergencies," he said.
David continues with his campaigning today, through his company Creating Lifesavers, to empower others with the skills to save a life in an emergency situation.
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