Black cab driver whose heart stopped for 20 minutes raises £1K for defibrillators
A black cab driver whose heart stopped for 20 minutes has thanked paramedics who came to his rescue after he suffered a heart attack.
Paul White, 64, who lives in Croydon with his wife, Paula, 68, collapsed during a martial arts class at a church hall in Wimbledon.
His class instructor, Paul Hughes, immediately dialled 999 and performed chest compressions.
Paramedics from Wimbledon Ambulance Station arrived in minutes and restarted Mr White’s heart using a defibrillator.
Mrs White said: “It was such a shock. At 10 o’clock at night I had the police at my door telling me that they were blue lighting Paul to St George’s Hospital where he was in a critical condition.
“At first I thought the police were informing me of his death.”
Mr White, a black cab driver for 25 years, says he is “fortunate to still be alive” and thanked paramedics for their lifesaving support.
He said: “If it wasn’t for their help and the use of a defibrillator, it would have been a very different outcome.
“Sadly, I won’t be able to drive a cab again but I have retained the knowledge that cabbies need, so I’ll always be a cab driver at heart.”
After two weeks in St George’s intensive care unit in Tooting, Mr White was transferred to the Royal Brompton Hospital in Chelsea where surgeons replaced his heart valves and inserted a cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) into his heart to keep it at a normal rhythm.
Following his recovery, Mr and Mrs White raised more than £1,000 with their neighbours by taking part in the London Ambulance Charity’s first ever fundraising walk – the London Life Hike.
In total, the walk raised £33,000 and counting for the charity’s new London Heart Starters campaign, which aims to buy more defibrillators in areas where they are most needed.
Mrs White said: “Defibrillators and chest compression do work and he is living proof of it. If you perform CPR and use a defibrillator in time and do it correctly, people can still be here.
“I cannot thank the ambulance crews enough. They persevered, shocked him eight times and now I have my husband back.”
Recent analysis from the LAS shows 21 neighbourhoods where there is no access to a defibrillator, and 129 neighbourhoods where there is limited access for the population nearby.
Wandsworth comes fourth in the capital with eight priority neighbourhoods – behind Ealing, Barnet and Brent with 10.
This means, there is no or limited access to a defibrillator in Tooting North, Earlsfield North, West Hill South, York Gardens, Clapham Common West, Furzedown West, Furzedown East and Tooting West.
In Lambeth there are six priority neighborhoods, with limited access to defibrillators in Streatham Vale, Loughborough Road, Tulse Hill, Stockwell North, Leigham Vale and Royal Circus, and West Norwood West and Streatham East.
Paramedic Laura Smith, who treated Mr White alongside her crewmates John Beer and Millie Hurst, said: “I joined the ambulance service in hope of stories like Paul, to be able to save someone’s life not only for themselves but also for their loved ones like Paula.
“With every patient we do our absolute best to make that happen.”
To find out more about the Heart Starters campaign visit London Ambulance Charity website here.
Pictured top: Reunion at Wimbledon Ambulance Station, from Left, John Beer, Laura Smith, Lewis Hawkins, Paul and Paula White, Paul Hughes and Millie Hurst (Picture: LAS)