In July 1015 1 had a cardiac arrest in my sleep. I was
in bed at two in the morning. We live in the middle of
no-where, so it took 15 minutes for the paramedics to
get to me and the fact that I survived at all is amazing.
It was strange as I had just ridden 100kms the day
before and was at peak fitness. After 3 days in an
induced coma I came round in Hereford ICU. The
medical staff were fantastic and I rapidly improved. It
was decided that I would go to Birmingham for a
triple bypass, and have a mini defibrillator fitted to my
chest. After 43 days I was fit to return home and begin
my rehabilitation. This is where I came across
Heartstart Herefordshire. This voluntary organisation
was a great help in my recovery, with weekly classes
covering exercise, medication and care and support.
They get no funding and depend on volunteers and
fund raising to survive. In our rural county these
people travel the villages helping people like me.
Please check out their website. They really do make a
positive difference.