AN ELDERLY man from Cradley got the opportunity to thank his ‘three angels’ who dramatically helped save his life when he suffered a heart attack last year.
John Hunaban, a well known name and face around Malvern Hills through his plumbing and heating business, thanked the three off-duty nurses who combined their medical skills following his collapse at Malvern’s Coach House Theatre during an emotional reunion event.
The nurses, two from Worcester’s Spire South Bank Hospital and the other from Worcestershire Royal Hospital, met up with Mr Hunaban this week for the first time since the incident seven months ago.
The drama unfolded during the interval of the amateur production of Sleep No More which John was enjoying while on a night out with his friends.
But his enjoyable evening turned to trauma when he suddenly collapsed in the bar area after suffering a cardiac arrest.
Diane Milner, Lucy Windsor and Catherine Ball, who were also at the venue, used their skills and experience to keep John alive before on duty emergency staff arrived at the scene before he was taken to hospital.
John suffered several broken ribs during his emergency treatment at the scene and spent four days in hospital before being allowed home.
He is now close to completing his rehabilitation. He says he is then looking forward to rejoining his friends on the fairways at Bransford Golf Club.
John is now well on the road to recovery and has now raised the issue of defibrillators being provided in public areas.
He said: “Neither words nor money would be enough to say thank you to those three nurses. I don’t think I could find the words to express my gratitude enough, and my wife Heather’s, to my three angels.
“And of course we are also grateful to the ambulance crew who attended and the doctors and staff at Worcestershire Royal”.
“It’s been difficult for all of us coming back to the theatre and the room where it all happened, but at least there was a happy outcome”.
His wife, Heather, said: “Thanks to the quick thinking of three off-duty nurses who were at the theatre that night – Lucy Windsor, Catherine Ball and Diane Milner, they worked together carrying out CPR until the first responder arrived on the scene some 15 minutes later.
“Thanks to their efforts, working in five-minute shifts, they helped revive John and save his life”.
As a result of John’s brush with death, the Coach House Theatre has been presented with a defibrillator by the West Midlands Ambulance Service. This costs around £1,500 and is housed in a powered box on an exterior wall of the theatre.
Now John, and his wife Heather, are calling for various public areas and venues such as cinemas, pubs, swimming pools, and golf clubs, to have a defibrillator on site.
Heather added: “Our aim, by broadcasting what happened that night, is firstly to gain recognition for the wonderful girls who never gave up on John and secondly to educate the general public as to how effective CPR can be.
“We also need to get defibrillators housed in as many public areas as possible. These machines could prove vital and can be used by an untrained person as the machine will talk and issue instructions to the handler.
“Had a defibrillator been available the night John collapsed it would have been so helpful in reviving him sooner and preventing physical damage”.
As a thank you to the nurses efforts, and West Midlands Ambulance’s defibrillator gift, John and Heather have contributed towards the cost of the box which houses the defibrillator at the Coach House Theatre.
Catherine, on behalf of her two nursing colleagues, said: “It has been emotional for all of us coming back to the theatre and recalling what happened. We are just happy we were able to help, to do what we are trained to do and that John’s life was saved by our joint efforts.”
