Dancers awarded for perseverance in the face of tragedy

A normal Monday evening at their local dance school in August 2022 became a harrowing experience for studio regulars Sharryn, Ashleigh and Samantha when fellow dancer Donna suddenly collapsed during class.

Sharryn Ellis was in the adult jazz class with Donna, her friend and a lifelong dancer, when Donna briefly mentioned feeling unwell before falling suddenly to the floor.

“One minute she was standing next to me and the next minute she was falling,” recalls Sharryn. “I rushed over to her; she was not breathing and was pulseless.”

Sharryn’s years of experience and training as an ex-ICU nurse kicked in as she quickly assessed Donna and commenced CPR. Other class participants called 000 and sought help from the other room at the studio, where Ashleigh Polinelli and Samantha Milos-Brown responded.

“Sam and myself were in the back studio,” says Ashleigh, who also works as an ICU nurse. “All of a sudden, the door opened and someone asked if anyone knew first aid and CPR. Sam and I both put our hands up and started walking towards the door straight away. I think at that point Sharryn had already started CPR, she had done the full assessment and Sam and I came in to help.”

The three women worked together rotating CPR and breaths, the first ambulance arriving on the scene around 10 minutes in. After a brief handover, paramedics took over the airway and monitoring while Sharryn, Ashleigh and Samantha continued with their compression rotation.

Samantha, who was just 18 at the time, hadn’t recognised who they were helping at first. Upon realising it was Donna, her old neighbour and friend of the family, Samantha says she found it challenging to continue, but knew she had to try.

“I kept going because I knew her family, I thought ‘I have to do this for them’”, said Samantha.

A second and third ambulance had arrived, with critical care paramedics intubating Donna while the three women continued compressions, the whole effort lasting for over an hour.

Unfortunately, Donna’s heart was showing pulseless electrical activity (PEA) which meant they were unable to shock her with the defibrillator. She was transported to Fiona Stanley hospital but was sadly unable to be revived.

For their efforts, and for acting with great composure and determination in this difficult situation, Sharryn, Ashleigh and Samantha were each awarded a Royal Life Saving Gold Medallion Bravery Award.

“She was just amazing, she was an amazing lady and it really shook us all,” said Sharryn. “She was fit, healthy, she danced every week, she was fitter than I was. She’d just got her diagnosis clear of breast cancer the week prior, which added to the heartbreak.

“I think we gave her the very best, she had optimal care I think. Ash and I are both ICU trained, so if there was going to be a chance for her, that was her chance. But it wasn’t to be.

"It just wasn’t, unfortunately, it wasn’t her day.”

Sharryn, who has been involved in hundreds of resuscitations throughout her nursing career as well as some community incidents, says this one was physically and emotionally intense.

“I’ve stopped at car accidents, all sorts of things. But this one is the only one that’s really caused me a lot of grief, I think because she was my friend. It wasn’t until later that it really hit me. The training takes over to start with, and I just straightaway slipped into that resus/ICU mode. It took a couple of days before I kind of came out of that automated mode and then into the more emotional.”

Sharryn says she later experienced flashbacks and emotional reactions to hearing ambulance sirens.

"I found myself reliving it and wishing I could have done something a bit more. Then the rational side takes over and says no, no, you did everything you possibly could have. She had the very best chance, but it wasn’t to be.

“We were all in there giving it our best shot and giving our friend Donna the chance. When you’ve put everything that you know and you’ve learnt into practice, you know that you’ve done everything that you can do. I think that helps you get through it, especially when it’s a bad outcome.”

Sharryn now works in teaching and is passionate about first aid education. She believes everyone should do CPR training, at least once, and be prepared to help in an emergency.

“I wish more people knew CPR; everybody should learn. If I had one request, it would be that every single person do a first aid course, every single adult.

“If it happens to you, you give it a go. It doesn’t matter what your skill level is. You do the very best you can within your own capabilities. If you don’t give it a shot then you never know, and you will wonder for the rest of your life what else you could have done.”

This story serves as an important reminder to learn or update your first aid and CPR skills. If you’ve never done a course or it’s been too long since you have, let’s change that here.