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'My teenager daughter saved my life,' says doctor

Ethan Gudge
BBC News, Oxford
Eltayeb Family Talya next to Othman - who is in a hospital bed and gown. He wears glasses with greying hair and a small moustache. His daughter stands alongside him wearing a black top and blouse with a small gold pendant on a chain around her neck. She has long black hair. There are tattoos on both her hands and wrists. Both are smiling for the camera. Eltayeb Family
Talya, 14, preformed CPR on her father Othman

A doctor has thanked his teenage daughter after she "saved" his life by performing CPR on him following a cardiac arrest.

Dr Othman Eltayeb had been at home in Oxford on 1 April watching TV with his wife Salma Korak and 14-year-old daughter Talya when he fell unconscious.

Having called 999, Talya took instructions from call handlers and provided CPR to her father - whose heart was stopped for a total of 20 minutes.

By the time the air ambulance arrived, Othman was back breathing and moving - before being taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital for further treatment.

"We were just watching TV and then suddenly there was like a really loud snore - almost like a growl - and then my dad's head leant back," Talya said of the moment her dad fell unconscious.

"We were just like [trying not to] really panic - and we rushed into action."

Othman - who is a a public health physician working in developing countries - discovered he has Brugada syndrome, a rare heart condition.

The condition can cause a dangerously fast or irregular heartbeat according to the NHS, leading to potential cardiac arrests.

Talya has long brown hair and is wearing a blue hoodie. She is sitting down, with a white room out of focus behind her with a vase of colourful flowers over her left shoulder. A window with blinds is just visible on the right of the image.
Talya said she and her mother "rushed into action"

Initially, Salma began providing CPR to her husband whilst her daughter called 999 - before Talya took over.

"I didn't really feel anything - I just kept on going because my mom was panicking, so I had to just keep a cool mind," Talya said.

She said it was "as soon as the ambulance" left to take her father to hospital, she "realised he was okay".

The paramedics told the teenager she had done a "good job" and "really helped him [Othman] survive".

Othman has short grey/brown hair, glasses and a blue knitted jumper on. Behind him is a table and mirror and three vases of flowers.
Othman said he was "very proud" of his daughter

Othman said he was "very proud" of his daughter because "being a child, 14 years old, in that situation was very difficult for her and how she managed to communicate with the ambulance team and follow their instructions - this is a great job".

"She saved my life."

He said the incident showed it was "very essential for each family, or each person, to at least learn the technique of CPR" - because it's a "lifesaving measure and every second is counted".

"What actually saved my life was my wife and my daughter, because they started [CPR] immediately - I'm so lucky," he added.

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