A Bathgate man who had a cardiac arrest while cycling on a quiet country road is urging people to learn CPR.
Jamie O’Kane, 60, collapsed in front of a motorist while out riding his bike early on a bank holiday Monday last May.
Thankfully, the car was driven by quick-thinking Darren Neil who realised stricken Jamie’s heart had stopped.
Darren, 41, from East Calder, said: “It feels like everything was set up for Jamie to survive that morning.
“It was an isolated road and as I drove up the hill two cyclists went ahead of me, so I was unable to overtake them.
“Suddenly the guy on the right-hand side veered across the road and went headfirst into the kerb. I stopped the car and jumped out, thinking he had a puncture because the front of his bike just buckled.
“He was crumbled between the pavement and road, and I could see he was unconscious and was starting to make noises, fitting, and groaning.”
Darren dialled 999 and then sprinted 80 yards to find a street name for the call handler.
As Darren had coached his daughter’s swimming lessons, he had been taught CPR and began compressions on Jamie’s chest.
A cardiac nurse passing in her car stopped and took over from Darren until an ambulance arrived a few minutes later.
Paramedics used a defibrillator, managing to start Jamie’s heart at the side of the road. The ambulance was piloting a scheme in which they had a doctor on board who was able to anaesthetise Jamie immediately, which quickly relieved the pressure on his heart.
Jamie, from Bathgate, was placed in an induced coma for four and a half days, during which time Darren was profoundly impacted by his experience.
“I spent the next day trying to find out if he was okay and whether he’d survived,” said Darren. “The feedback from hospital was I’d done it right; although I’d broken his sternum, if I wasn’t there he might have died.
“But I found it very difficult to talk about and I worried, thinking could I have run faster or done the CPR better,” says Darren.
Speaking to a friend in the fire service helped to reassure him that doing something was better than nothing not least because so many people don’t know what to do.
“It was amazing to hear that Jamie was okay, I don’t think I have cried so long in my life, with so much emotion,” admits Darren.
When Jamie was brought out of the coma he had no memory of the incident.
He was more concerned for his cycling buddy Dougie, who’d gone into shock at the incident and who also had to be treated by paramedics.
“People couldn’t believe that I had had a cardiac arrest,” says Jamie. “I was known as the fit strong guy.”
Before he was discharged from hospital Jamie was fitted with an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) as a precaution.
Jamie waited 12 days before venturing out on his bike again but when he began to feel light-headed, he stepped off the bike to sit down – and his ICD shocked him back into a normal heart rhythm.
“It was painful, like having a hard punch in the chest, and when they later looked at the data from the ICD, they said I’d had another cardiac arrest and had an abnormal heartbeat.”
Jamie has now sadly had to hang up his bike helmet, but he remains positive and is happy that he’s still around to spend precious time with his wife Samantha.
“I have an exceptional wife, and she has helped me to get through this and come to terms with not cycling again,” he added.
Jamie has also forged an important new friendship with Darren, and they speak every few days.
Both Darren and Jamie are now urging the public to keep hearts beating this Heart Month by learning CPR. Darren, is now volunteering to teach CPR to other people.
“I was saved and believe we all need to look after each other,” said Jamie. “It’s not just about the person beside you that you know, but the stranger passing on the street.”
Jamie’s cycling clubs have supported him in raising awareness and funds. West Lothian Clarion held a CPR training session and raised £650 and Linlithgow Cycling Club raised £1000.
David McColgan, Head of BHF Scotland, said: “Jamie owes his life to Darren who by chance was in the right place at the right time and was able to give him CPR that morning. But you just never know when that day will come and you must ask yourself, will you be ready?
“It’s easy for everyone to learn CPR for free, in just 15 minutes with BHF RevivR. Help us keep hearts beats by learning CPR this Heart Month.”
To learn CPR in 15 minutes visit: https://www.bhf.org.uk/heartmonth
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