Firefighter texted thanks by man he thought had died
When firefighter Chris Kendall gave CPR to the victim of a roadside heart attack in June last year, he thought his efforts had been in vain.
Police told him that the casualty, whose name he never knew, had passed away.
But now Mr Kendall, 33, has been reunited with the man whose life he battled to save.
In november last year, he received a text from Allan hainey, thanking him for saving his life. On Saturday night, the pair met for the first time at Mr hainey’s 60th birthday party.
Mr hainey, from Wishaw, north Lanarkshire, told Mr Kendall: ‘The doctors said it was remarkable that I had survived, and that it wouldn’t have been possible without what you did.
‘The ambulance crew said I was the closest person to death they had ever seen after such a severe heart attack.’
Mr hainey was travelling home from holiday last summer when he suffered a severe heart attack that blew three holes in his heart.
Former CPR instructor Mr Kendall, from Maidstone, Kent, spotted Mr hainey being dragged from his car on the A1 near Cove, Scottish Borders. he delivered life-saving compressions for 15 minutes – to the tempo of ‘Staying Alive’ by the Bee Gees.
But when he contacted police, he was told that Mr hainey had passed away. In reality, Mr hainey had spent 52 days recovering in hospital.
The Police Scotland IT worker was so grateful that he tracked down Mr Kendall’s number to thank him.
his message said: ‘hi Chris, my name is Allan hainey. On the evening of Sunday 25th June this year I had “a bit” of a heart episode near the A1 and Cove village.
‘You stopped, assisted and by all accounts from the doctors and surgeons at edinburgh Infirmary, saved my life. My wife, family and myself will be forever grateful.’
Mr Kendall said: ‘It’s such a strange situation, but I couldn’t have wished for a better guy to have come across at the side of the road.’