Cricketer almost died after three cardiac arrests and heart attack on Essex road

Cricketer almost died after three cardiac arrests and heart attack on Essex road

An amateur cricketer almost died after suffering three cardiac arrests and a heart attack but survived thanks to the actions of heroic bystanders. Dave Turner's heart stopped beating for 20 minutes when fell seriously ill on July 17 this year.

The 58-year-old, from Westcliff-on-Sea, had been working at a job on a farm and was driving his van along Lower Burnham Road near Latchingdon when he began to feel unwell just after 4.40pm. He pulled over down a farm lane and called 999. Dave’s condition deteriorated and he clambered out of his car.

Bystanders Paul Knight, 26, and Anna-Marie Brentnall, 27, were driving past when they noticed Dave on all fours. Anna-Marie, a student midwife, took Dave's pulse as he stated he was feeling chest pains and struggling to breathe.

Reece Comer, 34, an emergency care attendant with a private ambulance firm, also stopped on his motorbike to see if he could help. Paul and Reece assisted Dave onto the passenger seat of the car to wait for the emergency services. Shortly after, Dave suffered his first cardiac arrest.

Paul, Anna-Marie and Reece removed him from the car to the ground and took it in turns to perform CPR. Anna-Marie contacted the emergency services to update them of Dave’s condition.

Ten minutes later paramedic Savannah Radford, emergency medical technician Anna Fitzgeorge and emergency care assistant Millie Hemley-Tucker arrived in a response vehicle. They took over the CPR from the trio of lifesavers and administered shocks with a defibrillator to attempt to restore a sustained heart rhythm.

They were soon joined by an ambulance with emergency medical technicians Aimee Boatwright and Debra Willis and emergency care assistant Megan Downs and the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance, which had been dispatched to provide advanced critical care.

After they performed a sixth shock on Dave with the defibrillator, the team achieved the resumption of a sustained heart rhythm. Once stabilised, Dave was transported by road ambulance to the Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospital, where he was fitted with a stent to open his blocked artery.

Remarkably, Dave - who works as a carpenter - has recovered so well that he has been able to play cricket just over a month after the cardiac arrests. The amateur cricketer has shared his story to highlight the importance of bystander CPR as part of the Restart a Heart Day campaign.

"My family and I are extremely grateful to everyone involved in saving my life," he said. "It’s impossible to put into words how humbled I am that so many people helped me that day - from Paul, Anna-Marie and Reece to the ambulance service, Essex and Herts Air Ambulance and Basildon Hospital. I owe my life to all of them."

Paul Knight said it feels "quite surreal" to have helped save Dave's life. He added: "It’s is an amazing feeling playing a part in saving Dave’s life and we have stayed in touch after."

Anna-Marie Brentnall continued: "I remember Dave telling me about his family and how much they meant to him before his first cardiac arrest and we started CPR. I’m so grateful we were there to help and it’s an amazing feeling to play a part in saving Dave’s life so he is here for his family.

"This shows how important it is to learn CPR and I believe it is skill that everyone should know. You never know when a situation will arise when you need it and you could save a life."

Fewer than one in 10 people survive an out of hospital cardiac arrest and clinicians have said that Dave’s life was saved by the good-quality CPR he received from bystanders. Restart a Heart Day, held each year on 16 October, aims to increase the number of people surviving out-of-hospital cardiac arrests by helping more people learn CPR.