A reunion night out in Leeds left a teen in cardiac arrest and with brain damage.
On November, 16, 2022, gap year student George Hurdle, from Bournemouth, went to visit his cousin Paddy in Leeds. The pair had not seen each other for a few months and were joined by Paddy's friend Josh for a fun night.
But sadly the affair ended with "normal and healthy" 19-year-old George's heart stopping for 30 minutes. "Paddy and his friend Josh performed CPR for half an hour that kept me alive until paramedics arrived," George said.
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After enjoying the Leeds bar scene the trio went back to Paddy's Leeds University accommodation block. Speaking about what happened, George said: "I hadn’t seen my cousin in a few months went to see him for a night out. When we’d got back to his flat in student accommodation I went into cardiac arrest."
He added: "I don’t really remember a lot of it at all, but Paddy and his friend Josh performed CPR for half an hour. They kept me alive until paramedics arrived. Luckily they both went to the same school where they both learnt CPR."
"It must have been weird for them to have to use it but it was good they knew how to." George was taken to Leeds General Infirmary and was put into an induced coma for four days in ICU. He was given around-the-clock care, and remained in hospital for a week.
George added: "After six days they concluded the cardiac arrest had no obvious cause and fitted me with a defibrillator as a precaution if it were ever to happen again." George said it was "unusual" that he had a cardiac arrest as he is a "healthy" teen, with no heart problems.
He added: "I had amazing doctors and nurses in the ICU who also took care of my family and helped them cope through it all. All of the staff on the ward were so lovely and made for a much easier, and sometimes quite entertaining experience whilst having various tests every day.
"I want to say a big thank you to all the really amazing staff. They would always make me cups of teas and made the hospital fun." The teen says he "doesn't remember much" of the incident and has been left with some brain damage. Now, six months on he has "recovered well" and wants to raise money for Leeds Hospitals Charity.
On May 14, George will be running the Leeds Half Marathon. He said: "All of the money I raise goes straight to the Leeds Hospitals Charity. After the care myself and my family received I feel incredibly grateful to all the staff at Leeds General Infirmary, this is a very worthy cause and I would greatly appreciate any donations."
To donate to George's Go Fund Me fundraiser, click here.
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