Tim suffered a cardiac arrest at work at Biondi Bistro Restaurant, Gunthorpe, and thanked the EMAS crew who saved his life
A dad who suffered a cardiac arrest as he started his shift at work was reunited with the ambulance crew who helped to save his life.
Tim Warry had just started work at Biondi Bistro Restaurant in Gunthorpe on the morning of September 7, 2017, when he collapsed to the floor and his lips went blue.
His colleague immediately started chest compressions to help save his life and called 999.
Liesel Lound, who took the call, credits the caller for their calm approach to what would have been a very distressing situation.
She said: “I heard that CPR was already in progress and he continued that until the crew arrived.
“It can be life changing when people are able to listen to our instructions over the phone — as you can see with Tim.”
First on the scene were paramedic Finbar O’Ryan, followed closely by paramedic Vicki Haslam and technician William Hall.
Tim was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, where he was placed in an induced coma and put on life support, before being transferred to Nottingham City Hospital by technicians Lee Hanstock and Sarah Hallam.
Tim’s parents were on holiday in Portugal at the time.
His father, Derek said: “We settled into what we thought would be a fortnight of relaxation but on the third day we received the phone call that every parent dreads.
“To see our son in the hospital bed with tubes sticking out of him was just terrifying.”
Thankfully, Tim pulled through and, incredibly, went back to work just seven weeks later.
He said he still remembered nothing about what happened to him:
“My last memory is putting the bins out the night before and my next memory was a few days later when I came out of an induced coma.
“I suddenly realised how serious things had been and how close I had been to not making it.”
Tim has expressed his gratitute to his colleagues who performed CPR on him, and the medical team who saved his life.
“My little boy was only two at the time and if I had passed away that day, I would have been nothing but a distant memory to him by now.
“I was able to be there for his first day of school and my experience has made me appreciate these moments a lot more.”
Tim has since been reunited with all the emergency services personnel who saved his life, and paramedics Vicki and Tim were pleased with the opportunity to meet Tim again under happier circumstances.
Vicky said: “It’s wonderful and it’s great to see Tim looking so well. It is the first time I have been able to have this opportunity.”
