A Boots dispenser helped save a man’s life after he suffered a heart attack outside the store.
The incident happened in early September when a member of the public ran into English Street Boots store in Carlisle and asked for help after the man collapsed.
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Dispenser Kerry Headech was the nominated first aider and she told C+D she “ran off” with the person who alerted the store.
“When we got outside, there was a gent on the floor,” she said. “He was clearly past it. He was put in a recovery position when I got there, but you can see that he wasn’t breathing.”
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Headech said a lot of people were “screaming and shouting” and trying to stop her reaching the man, a 41-year-old called Chris, because “they thought he was okay”.
“But I managed to get everyone off him and move him on to his back. I could see that he wasn’t breathing. And then started CPR on him and carried on until the ambulance got there.”
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After doing CPR for a full 15 minutes, the ambulance took over and shocked him a couple of times before getting a pulse out of him.
It was after she stopped CPR that Headech realised Chris’ parents and girlfriend were all there.
“So I just wished them the best of luck and went back to work.”
Recovery
A few days later, Chris’ parents came into Boots and told Headech that Chris survived.
“He made a miraculous recovery,” Headech said. “The people in A&E just said to them he was extremely lucky that the CPR was first class and it saved his life.”
Headech said it was all a shock to the family as the heart attack happened just a day after Chris and his girlfriend found out they were going to have a baby for the first time.
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“I was just in the right place at the right time. Chris came in with his girlfriend and gave me a big hug and thanked me and gave me a bonsai tree to look after!”
The dispenser has kept in touch with his parents, who sent a picture of Chris and his girlfriend on holiday celebrating his 42nd birthday and thanked Headech again.
It comes after an Asda pharmacist, alongside a retail colleague, took it in turns to perform CPR on a man who had collapsed while queuing for a prescription.
