Quantcast
Channel: Leicester Mercury Latest Stories Feed
Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Heart attack victim meets his lifesaver

0
0

Retired teacher John Gill has thanked the man who saved his life by pumping his chest to the beat of the Bee Gees hit Stayin' Alive.

Shopper Mushtaq "Ali" Khan came to John's rescue when he collapsed from a heart attack in a city Tesco.

Ali reacted immediately and used hands-on CPR he had learned from a TV advertising campaign fronted by Vinnie Jones.

He pumped John's chest for a couple of minutes to bring him back to life after he had stopped breathing.

Now, months later, the two have finally been reunited after Ali read John's account of his experiences in the Leicester Mercury last week.

John, 68, of Old Humberstone, Leicester, said: "By acting so promptly, he saved my life.

"I and my family cannot thank Ali enough for what he did. I rang him shortly afterwards, but I felt he was a modest man and quite shy.

"I am glad we have managed to meet so I could shake his hand and say thank you in person. Hopefully, we will keep in touch."

Ali, who lives in North Evington, Leicester, has had no training in first aid.

He said: "I saw how to do it by watching Vinnie on the television.

"I don't normally watch ITV, but I remembered the advertisement because it was funny.

"When I saw John open his eyes and smile, it made me so happy.

"I knew that he would survive." He said his being in the Hamilton Tesco store was unusual and he believed someone was looking after John on that day.

He said: "I do not normally go shopping and the family normally shops at Asda.

"But my wife said we were both going to Tesco in Hamilton on that day.

"A man just fell down in front of me.

"He just went down and nearly dragged his wife down, too. I saw his face was turning blue.

"I leaned down and he was not breathing. I started pumping his chest.

"Nothing happened at first. I kept on pumping and he came round.

"My wife called the ambulance and John was taken away.

"I was pleased to meet John and I am so happy for him that I could help save him. My family are also very proud of what I did."

The incident, in February, occurred soon after the British Heart Foundation campaign featuring former Wimbledon and Chelsea star Vinnie as a gangster reviving a hapless victim to the Bee Gees' hit was shown on TV.

John was taken to Glenfield Hospital for treatment and had a pacemaker fitted later in the day – after he suffered a second cardiac arrest while in hospital.

The British Heart Foundation said John was one of 28 people whose lives were saved as a direct result of the campaign.

John is featuring in a follow-up promotion with Vinnie and other heart attack survivors.

Heart  attack victim meets his  lifesaver


Viewing all articles
Browse latest Browse all 9894

Latest Images

Trending Articles





Latest Images