Car heart attack victim saved by guardian Angie
A heroic nurse dropped everything to save the life of a driver who collapsed at the wheel in Larkfield.
Angie Cooke, who works at Tunbridge Wells Hospital, was on her way to the supermarket with her two-year-old son when she noticed the car in front of her had stopped at a strange angle at traffic lights in New Hythe Lane.
Mrs Cooke, who manages ward 31, ran to the car in front to check on the driver. She found 58-yearold Ivo Fossaluzza unresponsive and showing no signs of life.
The 38-year-old pulled the driver’s door open and started CPR, shouting for someone to call an ambulance.
Other drivers ran to her aid, with two men helping her to lift Mr Fossaluzza so she could continue CPR on the pavement until paramedics arrived.
Mrs Cooke, from Tonbridge, said:“It was very strange. After everything that happened, I was suddenly on my way to Tesco again, like it was a normal day. But it was far from that.
“When I got to the car park, I burst into tears.
“I think the stress of what had just happened and the worry I had for Ivo caught up with me.”
Mr Fossaluzza was taken to Maidstone Hospital A&E and treated for a major cardiac arrest in intensive care.
An implantable cardioverter defibrillator was fitted and he went home just over a week later.
The Rochester resident said: “I can honestly say I feel better now than I did before I had the cardiac arrest.
“I am eating healthily, doing plenty of exercise and I’m looking forward to going back to work very soon.”
The swimming pool service manager added: “There’s no doubt Angie is my guardian angel and saying thank you to her for what she did is never going to be enough.”
Since the incident, in January, the company Mr Fossaluzza works for has sent all employees on a first-aid course.
Mrs Cooke added: “I don’t feel like I did anything heroic, I just instinctively did what I think anyone in that situation would do.”