From left to right: Simon Dodd, Stan Matherson, Michael Cooksley, Peter Hughes and Darren Crowther
A Lincoln father who suffered a cardiac arrest a day after his 36th birthday has been reunited with the ambulance crew who helped to save his life.
Peter Hughes was having a few drinks and watching the football in The Mailbox bar with his friends on 14 April last year when he stopped breathing and collapsed outside on the pavement.
One of his friends saw him fall and noticed his face had turned blue and rang 999.
The group of friends caught the attention of an off-duty nurse and policewoman who stopped and performed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) until the ambulance arrived.
Peter, who works in IT, said: “I have no memories of that day. All I remember is going out with my family the day before and the next thing I’m waking up in intensive care.
“I ended up in hospital for 21 days and it really gave me time to think and process everything that happened.
“I used to be obsessed with my job but now I love to spend every moment I can with my partner and three-year-old son Leo.”
Paramedic Michael Cooksley and ambulance crews Stan Matherson and Simon Dodd and Marc Hollinshead and Darren Crowther arrived and continued CPR on Peter.
He was transported to Lincoln County Hospital, where he was taken to the Intensive Care Unit, where he was put into an induced coma.
Helen Craven, Peter’s partner said: “I was putting Leo to bed when one of his friends rang to tell me what had happened, and my initial reaction was ‘why would anyone joke about that?’
“I just couldn’t get my head around the fact that what was happening at the time was real.”
“There was no real idea at that stage of whether he had suffered any brain damage.
“My worst fear was Peter coming around from the coma and not being able to remember who me and Leo are.”
In the UK, there are more than 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests each year and survival rates are low. Less than 10% of patients experiencing a cardiac arrest will survive to be discharged from hospital.
Speaking about the upcoming patient reunion, Paramedic on scene, Michael Cooksley said: “I have been doing this job for 30 years and it is not often that I get to meet the patients after their medical emergency.
“When myself and my colleagues arrived on scene we saw how distraught all his friends were, so it will be nice to see him and his family again under happier circumstances.”
Michael wearing green uniform whilst smiling and holding Leo in the fast response car. The drivers door and boot is open.
