Darren’s Story
I could have never anticipated what happened to me on 2nd March. Training for my sixth London Marathon, I considered myself a fit and healthy 54-year-old. It was a normal day for me, I had been for a swim and to the gym, however I only knew I had exercised because my smart watch had tracked my activity.
One moment I was sitting down on the sofa, the next I had slumped to one side and started making strange noises. My wife, Debbie, who works for the NHS, had recently completed a CPR refresher course and knew that I was in cardiac arrest.
With the help of my son, Rhys, my wife lifted me off the sofa so she could perform CPR on me. I will never underestimate what my wife went through that day. It was a fight or flight situation, and she chose to fight. She was saying to me, “I’m not going to let you die. You’re not dying on me.”
She was saying to me, “i’m not going to let you die. You’re not dying on me.”
With a 999 call on speakerphone, Debbie continued CPR until the local ambulance service arrived, shortly followed by the Thames Valley Air Ambulance crew. I was told by my family how both crews worked seamlessly together; everyone knew their role, working completely in sync.
The Thames Valley Air Ambulance crew were able to give me advanced medication and work to stabilise me. They were able to use their skills to restore a more stable heart rhythm while I was still at home. I’ll never know quite why that happened, but I thought I’d used up all my lucky charms that day.
I pride myself on being fit and healthy. There was nothing I could have done differently in terms of my lifestyle. I kept wondering if I did something to trigger it, or if I missed a warning sign? The medical teams at John Radcliffe hospital concluded that it was an ‘electrical fault’ with my heart.
I spent two weeks in hospital and had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted, which gave me and my family reassurance for the future. Once I was home, I took great comfort in my conversations with Adam, Thames Valley Air Ambulance’s Head of Aftercare, who also has an ICD. He put my mind at ease about my ICD and checked on my wife, because he knows that incidents like this affect the whole family.
“The Aftercare team have been fantastic. The crew saved my life, and the support afterwards has helped me rebuild it.”
The Aftercare team have been fantastic. The crew saved my life, and the support afterwards has helped me rebuild it.
I have found a sense of purpose being an advocate for CPR training within my local triathlon club. I could have been one of the nine out of ten who don’t survive a cardiac arrest. But, because of the care I received that day, I’m the one that lived.
To them, they were just doing their job, but they have given me another chance at life. Because of them I am still here. I could say thank you forever, but that would never be enough.
Your support could make the difference between life and death. Please give what you can and ener the Spring Raffle today to help more people like me.
