Klaus-Werner Ihle

@purpleduck431702 · Jan 10, 2026 at 8:02 pm

I had to perform CPR on a close family member

Three years ago, when I was 18, I lost my cousin. She stayed with us for medical reasons. We were home alone while the rest of my family was out. Around the afternoon, I was lying in my room when I heard her calling my name. When I opened the door, she was panicking, waving her hands, and saying she couldn’t breathe, begging me to call for help.
I called them immediately. She moved between rooms and eventually sat down in a chair in the living room. I stayed on the phone with the operator, explaining what was happening and giving our address, while she kept saying she couldn’t breathe.
At some point, she went quiet. I went over and saw she had passed out in the chair, her head down. The operator asked if she was breathing. I couldn’t tell, and when I said I didn’t think she was, I was instructed to move her to the floor and begin chest compressions.
I put the phone on speaker and followed the instructions, interlocking my hands and pushing down on her chest repeatedly, counting out loud. My arms burned, and time felt endless. When I finally heard sirens, responders arrived five to ten minutes later, came in through the back door, and took over.
At the hospital, we were told she had