St John first aid teacher saved by his own student
‘He began to gasp’
WHEN Karol Chew’s first aid tutor went red and sank to the floor she thought he was simply role playing for the class. But within moments she found herself facing a real life and death emergency as he suffered a serious heart attack.
David Knowles, 77, a retired nurse who now volunteers with the St John Ambulance, was leading a first aid session at Mrs Chew’s church group when the drama began.
‘David had said in a previous training session that he will quite often pretend to have a fit or heart attack, in order to see how people react,’ Mrs Chew said.
‘Then he sat down and I thought he was going to start off with one of his little demonstrations, but I noticed his neck go red and thought “he can’t act that”. I knelt down and asked if he was all right. David looked at me and said he wasn’t. He asked me to put his feet up on a chair, which I did.’ Mrs Chew, 56, added: ‘He was looking very flushed but I said ‘‘I need to know for definite David, are you acting?’’ and he said ‘‘no’’.
‘He asked me to take his pulse and I couldn’t find it. When I told him he said ‘‘neither can I’’ and at that point I realised that this was serious. I checked David’s neck and found his carotid pulse, but it was very intermittent.
‘I told him it was on and off and he said “I agree”, so I asked him if he knew what was going on. He said ‘‘Karol, I think I’m going to have a heart attack” and I said ‘‘Okay, while we have time, talk me through it.’’ David was amazing. He was completely and utterly calm and coherent. He also told someone to phone his wife.
‘Someone else dialled 999 and David spoke to the control centre and he was completely focused and gave them all his vital signs.
‘Calmly, he told the control centre he thought he was going to go into cardiac arrest in the next few minutes. He was the calmest person in the room at that stage.
‘Then he began to gasp and I realised he was arresting. I knew I would have to give CPR and I was terrified. David stopped breathing and, as I rolled him on to his back and began pumping his chest, I remember thinking “If I stuff this up now I’m going to kill him”. A doctor has since reassured me that David was effectively dead at that point, so I couldn’t have done much to make his condition worse and it was better to do something rather than nothing.’
Mrs Chew gave Mr Knowles CPR until paramedics arrived.
He was taken from the Belmont Chapel in Exeter to the nearby Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where he suffered a further cardiac arrest. He spent five weeks in hospital and has had stents fitted and a small defibrillator implanted in his chest. He is recovering well after being allowed home in March, much earlier than expected, and is being cared for by his wife, Nova, 75, also a retired nurse.