A woman about to get married acted swiftly to rescue her partner’s life just before their wedding, performing CPR for 20 minutes when he suddenly collapsed during her birthday stroll. Justyce Crossman and her fiancé David Robinson, 21, were returning to their car after visiting a waterfall in Hafren Forest near Llanidloes, Wales, on March 13, as part of her 23rd birthday road trip.
Shortly before reaching the carpark, David collapsed face down and started convulsing. Justyce, trying to remain composed, immediately dialed 999 and commenced CPR as David became unresponsive and motionless. Responders and paramedics arrived 20 minutes later, administering two defibrillator shocks that stabilized him. He was then airlifted to Glan Clwyd Hospital in Denbighshire, Wales, for further medical care.
Following his hospital admission, David received a diagnosis of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Pulmonary Artery [ALCAPA], a rare heart anomaly. He was subsequently transferred to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle-upon-Tyne for open-heart surgery to address the issue and have a permanent defibrillator implanted.
ALCAPA is an uncommon heart condition where the left coronary artery originates from the pulmonary artery instead of the aorta, affecting approximately one in 300,000 infants. Without intervention, the mortality rate for symptomatic infants is as high as 90%. David’s survival with this undetected defect for 21 years is remarkable.
Justyce believes that her CPR efforts that day were instrumental in saving David’s life, forging an everlasting bond between them. She emphasizes the importance of CPR training, suggesting that David’s survival may have been unlikely without her quick actions.
David, still recuperating from surgery, is grateful for Justyce’s rapid response. Despite the recovery process, he looks forward to resuming his cricket activities and pursuing his career as an electrician. The couple, engaged in March 2025, are collaborating with the defibrillator charity Missed A Beat to raise funds for and install more public defibrillators.
Hailing from Victoria, Australia, Justyce, with a background in nursing, now aspires to become a paramedic following the life-changing incident. She advocates for widespread CPR knowledge, underscoring its life-saving impact. David expresses his gratitude towards Justyce and highlights the newfound closeness between them post-rescue.
The couple’s experience underscores the critical need for accessible defibrillators in remote areas to enhance emergency response times and improve survival rates in similar situations.
