I died for 18 minutes but my kids brought me back to life

I died for 18 minutes but my kids brought me back to life
A DAD who died for 18 minutes when his heart stopped says he owes his life to his kids.

Stuart Waters, 48, went into cardiac arrest while behind the wheel.

He had driven his children - Sadie, 10 and Jude, seven - back from football practise on the evening of March 1.

All of a sudden, he felt ill and became unresponsive.

His children were the only ones there to spring into action, running to get help.

Stuart said: "The police officer there at the time said that, in that situation, the likelihood of surviving was one in 10 but thankfully I was the one.

“It’s never something you want your kids to see but it’s a very proud moment - obviously for the wrong reasons - but I am so proud of them and couldn’t ask for better kids.

"At the end of the day they helped save my life so I owe them big time.

"I don't quite think the kids quite realise the full extent of what happened, they just did what came naturally to them, but I think deep down they do know what an incredible thing they have done."

Recalling the terrifying moment their dad went into cardiac arrest, Sadie said: "Before it happened, Dad said 'oh no it’s happened again' which we didn’t know what that meant so Jude stayed in the car.

"I was confused but also scared at the same time because I didn't know what was happening or what to do so I just ran to the house and began knocking on the door.”

Jude continued: "Sadie ran to the door to get mum who was in the bath and I stayed in the car to see if dad was OK but he didn’t reply.

"I was really confused because I didn't know what happened, scared and a bit sad."

While in the car, Jude took the initiative to unclip his father's seatbelt.

Wife Leanne, 38, pieced together what had happened.

She said: "I ran out to get some help and two ladies, Emma and Gemma, came out. They got Stuart out of the car and did CPR in the road.

"Then the emergency respondents came and everyone was working on him for ages.

"They wanted to put him in a coma and take him to King’s College Hospital in London because he wasn’t responding as they had hoped.

"But they put him in the back of an ambulance and continued to work on him as they took him to Pembury hospital."

Some 30,000 cases of cardiac arrest occur outside of a hospital each year in the UK, the British Heart Foundation says.

If the heart is not kept going with resuscitation or restarted with a defibrillator - found in public places - patients can die within minutes.

Just one in 10 people survive out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Leanne said: "They weren't sure for the next few days what was going to happen because his brain had been staved of oxygen and they were worried about brain damage.

"Luckily the scans showed everything was OK and it would just take a little time for his memory to come back."

Despite the fact Stuart had said “oh no it’s happened again”, he suffered his first cardiac arrest that day.

He was legally dead for 18 minutes.

Stuart was in hospital for eight weeks and was given a mini defibrillator in his chest to prevent another cardiac arrest.

He has since come home and is in his fifth week of recovery, as cardiac arrest and its impact on the brain can have long-term symptoms.

The former lorry driver has lost his licence to drive due to his condition, but has been told there will be a different job for him when he is well enough.

On May 22, police officers Sgt Joe Breen and PC Steven Shipley presented Sadie and Jude with a Schools Team Certificate of Resilience for their bravery.

The family extended their thanks to everyone who helped on the day of the incident.

Stuart said: "A big thank you goes to the neighbours, Emma and Gemma especially, who performed CPR, and our other neighbours that helped.

"Thanks to my wife and kids, the emergency services, work has helped me and the football team too; as well as the kids' school, Skinners' Kent Primary."