A man from Holcombe Brook who collapsed whilst putting a bin out has praised the work of a Bury charity which ultimately “saved his life.”
A cardiac arrest survivor has spoken about how a Restart the Heart defibrillator saved him despite his survival chances being one in 10.
The man, who wishes to remain anonymous for personal reasons, said: “I collapsed in the street and luckily for me, neighbours saw me fall and had access to a nearby defibrillator.
“Without it, I might not have been here today. It goes to show how important these pieces of kit really are and I am so thankful for Sarah and the life-saving work she does.”
Sarah Jones has been raising money for defibrillators through Rammy Restart a Heart since 2021 after watching footballer Christian Eriksen suffer a cardiac arrest on the pitch (for Denmark in the Euros).
Since then, she has set up Restart the Heart, in the hopes of bringing more of the life-saving equipment to other areas of the borough.
She said: “This is the first one of my defibrillators which have been used and the whole situation has been a bit of a bombshell.
“We don’t want anyone to be in the situation where they need to use one and when we do install them, we hope the most they will be needed for is to make people feel safe.
“However, if a situation occurs where it is needed, having the equipment to hand can quite literally make the difference between life or death.”
When a defibrillator is used, typically, the North West Ambulance Service will take it with them to check the digital records to aid in assessing a patent.
Because of this, the owners of the machine are notified so that they can later retrieve and reinstall it.
Sarah said: “All I knew was it had been used, I didn’t know by who, why or what condition they were in, so it was quite an emotional time.
“A few weeks later, the gentleman found us and got in touch to let us know he was recovering and if that defib hadn’t been there, he may not have been alive today.”
Describing it as something you would typically overlook or take for granted, the survivor said: “You see these defibrillators dotted around the town, but you don’t think anything of it, not until you or someone close to you goes through something like this.
“It has been a hard time for myself and my family which is why I want to remain anonymous for now, but I wanted to share my story to raise awareness of the fantastic work being done by Restart the Heart.”
The charity is hoping to soon install several new defibrillators across Bury after the success of their white-collar charity boxing match held in April.
Due to price increases, Sarah said they are having to work harder than ever to raise the funds for the equipment but still continue to do so alongside teaching first aid classes.
She said: "Although it can be hard, I want to thank everyone involved in the charity and Andrew Luxton who is heavily involved and goes above and beyond to help us on this mission."
Restart The Heart will be hosting a family fun day at Whitehead Park on Sunday, July 23 and are organising a James Bond-themed casino night for September.
If you have a story tweet @BuryTimes or @Heywoodharriet_ or email Harriet.Heywood@newsquest.co.uk
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