A paramedic and a football coach have described the moments when they sprung into action to help save a teenager's life after he suffered a cardiac arrest. Kye Wilson, who was 18 at the time, was involved in a light football training session in Harvey Hadden Sports Village when he collapsed to the ground.
Wes Burke, Kye’s trainer at Pass Move Grin in Bilborough, quickly performed CPR and used a defibrillator on Kye when they discovered he wasn't breathing. Other members of the team, staff and coaches were also on hand to provide assistance.
At least four shocks were delivered before paramedics arrived. Paul Bass, 56, was on the scene shortly after with other members of East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS) as crews battled to save Kye's life.
Paul was cardiac arrest lead on the day; co-ordinating the efforts of his fellow crew members. Kye's heart stopped again on his way to Queen's Medical Hospital, and Paul says they "lost him a couple of times", but thankfully he survived the ordeal.
Read more: Two men arrested after high-speed police chase in Radcliffe on Trent
Kye's story features on Channel 4's 24 Hours in A&E on January 17. Paul has praised Wes and others at Pass Move Grin for their swift action, stating that they were the ones who kept Kye alive. He went on to say that "they did all the hard work."
Paul, who currently works as a community paramedic, said: "I was on the fast response vehicle and we were called to Harvey Hadden Stadium to report the collapse of an 18-year-old male. When we got there, myself and the ambulance I think turned up at the same time.
"The ground staff, they had him laid out on the ground and they put a community defibrillator on him - so they did all the hard work. They're the ones that kept him alive.
"So we then got him into the vehicle. We lost him a couple of times on route to the hospital. His heart stopped again but we managed to get it started with defibrillation and drugs.
"Then it was just advance life support. Keeping him awake and keeping him alive until we got him to hospital.
"I think I had two crews with me, they sent me a spare crew as well to help move him because it was on a dodgy piece of grass.
"And sod's law states that the day you go on grass you get stuck! So we needed an extra truck as well."
"I was what they call the cardiac arrest lead. So I just co-ordinated the efforts.
Wes Burke, Kye’s trainer at Pass Move Grin in Bilborough, has described the moment when he had to perform CPR on Kye. He told the Nottingham Post: “I have been a coach for 15 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Mr Burke has been training at the Pass Move Grin for nine years. He added: “It was the second time personally when I had to do that. You just have to stay calm and listen to what the people from the ambulance are saying.
“There were some other boys as well. So we had to move them away and make sure that they had a safe view to protect them as well.
“The boys were shocked seeing their team mate on the floor. We started to perform CPR and it was just very sad.”
He added: “As the owner, I know every single player and their families. They tell you about their dreams, they tell you about their fears. We have a connection with every single one of them. When you see one of them upset or sad, it is sad.”
In the episode of 24 Hours in A&E, Mr Burke visits Kye while he is in hospital. He added: “He is a very talented boy. His family is very nice and polite. They are just brilliant human beings.”
Paul praised the staff at Pass Move Grin. He added: "It was a big team effort. But the one thing I'd like to praise is that they [the coaches] were doing good CPR and they'd used the defibrillator and that really kept him alive.
"I can't imagine what they must've felt like when he suddenly keeled over in front of them. So credit where credit is due.
"All we did was kept him going and transported him. What they did was absolutely vital.
"It's been proven in studies that your chances of survival in and out-of-hospital setting are not very clever.
"If I had my way, I'd like to see CPR taught on the curriculum - it so helps."
Paul says that it is not always easy to keep your composure in these situations, particularly when dealing with a younger person. He detailed the techniques that have helped him over the years.
He added: "Sometimes yes [it's hard to keep composure]. It depends on your own background; your own life experiences, your own different experiences. For me, I've been trained for things like that all my life.
"I was previously army, I was a police officer and then obviously the ambulance services. All I do is I stop, take a big deep breath for half a second, think of something unprintable and then crack on .
"The training is like muscle memory - it just kicks in and then you have to crack on. It's nice that we actually got to know the outcome as well, it doesn't happen very often.
"When we bring our patents in we hand them over to the staff and then they take notes from us and crack on. It's really nice that the outcome was a good one.
"Just because we brought him in alive, doesn't mean to say he was going to survive."
READ NEXT:
