Carl went on to survive a cardiac arrest thanks to the Community First Responder volunteer (CFR) Andrew Stone who defibrillated him and gave him cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

For weeks Carl tried to track down Andrew, eventually finding him at a community event. Carl’s wife, Debbie, who made the 999 call when her husband fell ill, remembered that Andrew had introduced himself as a CFR.

Debbie saw Andrew had posted on the local village Facebook group page about a public event he was attending to teach people CPR and she thought she recognised him. This was confirmed when she saw an interview Andrew did on television.  

Carl says: “We went to the event, and we found the stand Andrew was on. I felt nervous approaching him but excited as I slowly walked up to him. I introduced myself to Andrew, he remembered who I was but was obviously surprised to see me. He told me that it is not often you get to meet the person you tried to save. We don’t always survive. 

“I count myself more than lucky as Andrew performed CPR on me and gave me two shocks with a defibrillator. The ambulance crew continued with CPR and gave me a third shock whilst I was on my way to the hospital.

“If Andrew had not attended within seconds of my wife’s initial call, I have no doubt I would not be here today. Hence why it meant the world to myself and my wife to meet him to say thank you. Meeting Andrew absolutely made my day, I felt in awe of meeting ‘my hero’ as I like to call him.”

Andrew, who has been a CFR volunteer for about nine years said: “I was delivering CPR and defibrillator familiarisation sessions at a community event in my home village of Carrbrook.

“I was talking to a member of the public and demonstrating some skills when I looked up as there was a couple standing a fair bit back down the path.  My initial thought was he looks familiar but couldn’t immediately place him.  However, as soon as Carl approached and spoke to me, I remembered the last time I saw him.  I just said so glad to see you!  He said, ‘not half as glad as I am to see you!’  

Anyone can be affected by a sudden cardiac arrest at any time, and without intervention, the person will quickly die.

When someone collapses and stops breathing normally, it is important to quickly call 999, perform CPR and use a defibrillator. This gives the person their best chance of survival. If reluctant or unable to do rescue breaths, hands-only CPR will still give the person the same chance

Everyone in every community has a role to play in the chain of survival, whether it’s by calling 999, doing chest compressions, locating a defibrillator, retrieving it, or by telling others what to do.

This Restart a Heart Day, you can learn to do CPR. Don’t miss our sessions on how to do CPR on an adult, child and infant.