Lollipop lady at Hoo St Werburgh Primary School, in Pottery Road, lucky to be alive

A lollipop lady is lucky to be alive after collapsing with heart failure whilst on duty.

Paramedics told Debbie Marsh she would have died if she had been alone at home as she suffered the first stage of a heart attack whilst waiting to help pupils across the road outside Hoo St Werburgh Primary School in Pottery Road, Hoo.

The 54-year-old, who suffers from a genetic heart condition, stopped breathing and was given CPR by an off-duty nurse after her pulse rate fell “to almost nothing” just after 8am on Monday.

The mother-of-six, who lives in nearby Knights Road, said she started her shift at 7.45am as usual but quickly started to feel a bit dizzy.

“I’ve had it before but this time the feeling was not passing,” she remembered.

She said she sat on the salt bin next to her crossing station and a parent offered her a glass of water. She remembers sitting on the floor and holding a staff member’s hand and then recalls hearing lots of commotion around her.

Parents had called an ambulance as they could barely feel a pulse and she had stopped breathing. While they waited an off-duty nurse had started CPR.

When the ambulance arrived Debbie, who finally regained consciousness after around 30 minutes, said they had to cut her top whilst emergency services shielded her from the children and parents arriving for school.

She was told an air ambulance had been put on stand-by.

Debbie’s daughter Casey rushed to the scene after receiving a call from a parent and said she had to pull over to let a fire engine, two police cars and two ambulances pass.

“I thought it might be for mum but I wasn’t sure because there was so many of them,” she said. “It was awful. I had to drop my kids off at school early and rush over.

“I just parked in someone else’s space and ran faster than I’ve ever run before. Seeing her on the floor was just devastasting.”

Speaking to KentOnline whilst recuperating at home, Debbie said she is worried the same thing will happen again.

She has been previously diagnosed with a genetic heart condition which saw her grandad suffer a fatal heart attack when he was in his forties and her cousin die at just 12 years old.

“I’ve fainted before,” she said. “But it’s never been this bad.

“To realise that I nearly died. I didn’t want to go to sleep last night in case I didn’t wake up.”

But the grandmother, who has been helping children cross the road for 18 months, is hoping to get back to work as soon as possible.

She said she loves her job.

“I love seeing the children. I give fist pumps and high fives. Even the teenagers from the secondary school say hello.

“I get to know the parents and I see my daughter’s friends all grown up and bringing their own children to school,” she said.

And she wanted to give thanks to the parents and staff who helped save her life.

“The paramedic said if I had not had so many people to help me, I very likely would have had a heart attack and died,” she said.

“I am so grateful to everyone who helped and particularly to the woman who did CPR. I cannot thank her enough. I’d love to meet her in person and give her a massive hug.”