A Northumberland cyclist says he is 'lucky and humbled' to be alive, as his cycling club raises money to maintain and install defibrillators, one of which saved his life.
Two members of the Monday Morning Cycle Club, a group which meets weekly in Berwick-upon-Tweed, were in the right place at the right time when 65-year-old Guy Rowland went out for one of his first cycles with the group last October. A keen cyclist for more than 25 years, Guy was newly retired and looking forward to getting out on his bike more.
He had recently spoken to a doctor about having exercise-induced asthma before cycling the mile and a half from his home in Tweedmouth to the cycle club's meeting point at East Ord. However, the tightness in his chest proved to be more than that and Guy took ill upon arrival.
Luckily, two other cyclists were already there ahead of him. One of those was John Hare, a retired policeman.
He said: "I'd just said 'Morning, Guy,' and seconds later I heard the crash of the bike going over. I'm thinking, come on Guy, you've got to unclip your feet when you stop.
"That was very quickly followed by a shout. Guy was lay astride the bike on the ground. We got the bike out of the way then put him on his back, opened his airway and realised he wasn't breathing."
Guy had had a cardiac arrest. In what could be considered a stroke of luck, it had happened right next to a defibrillator.
John continued: "Everything apart from the incident happening fell into light, it was one of those strange coincidences. We were ten paces from the community defibrillator at East Ord. The week before, myself and Ray (who was also present) had done a first aid refresher course.
"It's a strange thing, you don't have to do an awful lot but if you do the right thing, there's a good chance of saving someone's life. You shouldn't be afraid to get involved with the defibrillators because they do talk you through it."
John and Ray's quick reactions gave enough time for a community paramedic to arrive on the scene. Four shocks had stopped Guy's heart from 'quivering' and he even briefly woke up - though he doesn't remember much of the episode.
Guy said: "I don't remember passing out. I remember starting a sentence and having difficulty remember a word at a certain point and that was it.
"Next thing I knew I was being bundled into a helicopter and I thought, what's all this? I don't need a helicopter."
Emergency care is limited in Berwick, so Guy was airlifted to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh, where he was kept in for a week to get tests and have a double bypass operation. Though he doesn't have a heart condition, he now has an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator), a device which can regulate abnormal and dangerous heart rhythms.
Now, the Monday Morning Cycle Club are raising money with Ord Parish Council to maintain defibrillators in the area, and also to install one in a more rural location. Though parish councils and organisations can access grant funding for the original purchase of defibrillators, there are no grants towards pads and batteries, which need to be replaced every three years.
Should a defibrillator be used, these pads must be replaced immediately, at a cost of around £100 per set. The defibrillator in question is one of three belonging to Ord Parish Council, which were purchased through fundraising by the Berwick Youth Activity Group and Northumberland County Councillor Small grant fund.
The cycling group has already raised more than £200 among its members following Guy's incident, and is hoping to raise more money later in the year with a charity bike ride or similar event.
Most importantly, they haven't lost a member. Just five months after Guy's cardiac arrest, he's back on the road - albeit on an electric bike, which he says is a big help when he cycles uphill.
He added: "I just feel incredibly lucky and very humbled really. The number of people who went to so much trouble to keep me alive, it's still quite moving when I think about it.
"It was very strange, I just kind of let myself go along with whatever was happening. I thought, they know what they're doing and if I die, I die, and if I live, I live.
"There's no point getting too upset about it. You just have to stay calm, really."
