A Nottinghamshire dad who suffered a cardiac arrest as he began his shift at a Gunthorpe restaurant was reunited with the ambulance crew who helped to save his life.
Tim Warry had just started his shift at Biondi Bistro Restaurant on the morning of 7 September 2017, when he collapsed to the floor and his lips went blue.
Tim’s colleague immediately started chest compressions to help save his life and continued CPR until our ambulance crew arrived to take over the situation.
Tim said: "I remember absolutely nothing at all and it was completely unexpected and unexplained.
“My last memory is putting the bins out the night before and my next memory was a few days later when I came out of an induced coma.
"I suddenly realised how serious things had been and how close I had been to not making it."
“I’m really very grateful that my colleague performed CPR on me while the ambulance was on its way as that's the main key to how I am still here.
“My little boy was only two at the time and if I had passed away that day I would have been nothing but a distant memory to him by now.
“I was able to be there for his first day of school and my experience has made me appreciate these moments a lot more.
"I have been told about the co-ordinated efforts of the crews worked to stabilise me on the way to hospital, as well as transfer me between QMC and City Hospitals."
Call Taker Liesel Lound took the 999 call and she credits the caller for their calm approach to what would have been a very distressing situation.
She said: "I heard that CPR was already in progress and he continued that until the crew arrived.
"It's can be life changing when people are able to listen to our instructions over the phone as you can see with Tim."
First on the scene was Paramedic Finbar O'Ryan who was followed closely by Paramedic Vicki Haslam and Technician William Hall.
The pair were very pleased with the opportunity to be reunited with Tim again under happier circumstances.
Vicky said: "It's wonderful and it's great to see Tim looking so well and its the first time I've been able to have this opportunity."
Tim was transported to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he was placed in an induced coma and put on life support, before being transferred to the Acute Cardiac at Nottingham City Hospital by Technicians Lee Hanstock and Sarah Hallam.
Sarah said: "An anaesthetist and a nurse travelled with Tim in the back while myself and Lee blue lighted him from the QMC to the City Hospital for his definitive care.
"Looking at him now you wouldn't know that two years ago he had gone into cardiac arrest and his family are so grateful for everything that the whole NHS has done for their son."
Lee said: "It's just amazing to see Tim again as we never get to see the end outcome in the Ambulance Service.
"He told us that he went back to work just seven weeks later, which is just mind blowing considering how I last remembered him from being in that coma."
Tim’s parents were on holiday in Portugal at the time of Tim’s medical emergency.
His dad, Derek said: “We settled in to what we thought would be a fortnight of relaxation but on the third day we received the phone call that every parent dreads.
"We were helped by the people in Portugal who organised us getting flights back to the UK so we could get to the hospital to be with our son.
"To then see our son in the hospital bed with tubes sticking out of him was just terrifying.
“It is possible the crews never get to know the outcome of their efforts in such situations, so I would like to put that right.”
Jane said: "Tim has found it quite hard to discuss what has happened to him but I feel that today has really helped him to talk about everything with the crews and will hopefully help him moving forwards."
In the UK, the survival rate for a cardiac arrest is low. Fewer than 10% of patients experiencing a cardiac arrest will survive to be discharged from hospital, so for Tim’s colleague to know how to perform CPR made a big difference during those first few minutes.