A GRANDFATHER from Malpas has thanked his fast-acting wife, ambulance crew, and others for saving his life when he suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting for a haircut.
Adrian Wilkins was in the waiting area at Levi's Barbers in Russell Drive, Newport, last November when he suddenly began gasping for air.
Mr Wilkins' wife Sandra said she immediately knew something was wrong when "after a brief spasm, I realised he wasn't breathing".
Mrs Wilkins, a former health care support worker on a paediatric unit with 20 years’ NHS service, said: "All was normal that day. We’d been out shopping and running a few errands before popping into Levi’s barber shop so Adrian could get haircut."
Mrs Wilkins immediately started to deliver chest compressions to her husband while customers found the nearest defibrillator.
She said: "Luckily, there were customers in the shop as well as the owner who realised how serious the situation was and came rushing over to help.
“Ethan, the owner of Levi’s, took the phone from me and relayed information to the ambulance call handler while a customer ran to the nearby pharmacy to get a defibrillator.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service has now shared the 999 call, in which you can hear below, in which call handler Anna Ashford carefully guide lifesavers through the critical steps they needed to take to resuscitate Mr Wilkins.
Ms Ashford, based at the Trust’s Clinical Contact Centre in Cwmbran, said: “I remember the call vividly as the initial information suggested Mr Wilkins had suffered as spasm or seizure, but it quickly became apparent that it was far more serious and he wasn’t breathing.
“Once I realised he was in cardiac arrest, I immediately began instructing Sandra, Ethan and the other customer on how to administer CPR.
“After a few moments, Adrian began to respond but it was clear from the information I was receiving from those in the shop that he still wasn’t breathing effectively.
“I made sure they continued with the chest compressions until either a defibrillator or our crew arrived on scene.”
Shortly after the call and before the defibrillator was used, paramedics arrived on the scene.
Mrs Wilkins said she didn't have time to process what was going on until after the ambulance crew arrived, calling it "a tremendous relief" before things "began to sink in".
Paramedic Dave Towers and emergency medical technician Mike Morelli were the first on the scene, followed by ambulance care assistant Dane Parry and Rob Horton of the Cymru High Acuity Response Unit (CHARU).
Mr Wilkins, who was 69 at the time and has since celebrated his 70th birthday, was then moved to the ambulance after two shocks of the defibrillator at the scene, then taken to Grange University Hospital. It was here that he was fitted with a machine called an ICD, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Mr Wilkins, a father-of-three and grandfather of four, said: “I have no recollection whatsoever of the incident and all I remember is waking up afterwards.
“I felt like a rugby ball in the middle of a scrum due to all the people that were surrounding me and taking care of me.
“My deepest gratitude goes out to all who played a part, and I will be forever grateful to everyone that saved my life.”
A spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: "When someone has a cardiac arrest, they collapse and become unresponsive.
"They either stop breathing entirely, or they may take gasping or infrequent breaths for a few minutes, which can be misinterpreted as snoring.
"If you see someone having a cardiac arrest, phone 999 immediately and start CPR.
"In addition, a defibrillator will deliver a controlled electric shock to try and get the heart beating normally again.
"Ambulance call handlers will tell you where your nearest defibrillator is."
The Resuscitation Council UK has produced a step-by-step guide to doing CPR.
All new and existing defibrillators must be registered on the national defibrillator network The Circuit so that 999 call handlers can see their location.
In February, the Welsh Ambulance Service is running its annual month-long social media campaign ‘Defibruary’ which is designed to educate the public about the importance of bystander CPR and defibrillation.
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