Paramedic saves his own wife’s life
A HERO paramedic saved his own wife’s life when her heart stopped – and it was recorded in a harrowing 999 call.
Phil Wilkins, 50, was off-duty when he heard a “thud” as wife Cerys, 48, collapsed upstairs.
School nurse Cerys had just said goodnight to their children when she fell to the ground without warning.
Phil, a paramedic of 16 years, desperately started CPR while daughter Ella, 18, called for an ambulance.
A recording of the call captures Ella shouting “come on, mam” as she wills her mother to regain consciousness.
Phil said: “Instinct and training kicked in, and I just did what I had to do. It was only when the ambulance crew arrived did I take a step back – that’s when I fell to pieces.”
The couple and their two children – Ella and son Coel, 15 – had just enjoyed a small garden gathering for Ella’s birthday.
Phil said: “Cerys went to say goodnight to the children, and that’s when I heard a thud on the landing.
“I recognised straight away what was happening so I asked Ella to call 999, and that’s when I began CPR.”
Cerys, who has been married to Phil for 20 years, previously underwent surgery for supraventricular tachycardia – a condition where the heart suddenly beats much faster than normal.
Cerys, of Pentrebach, near Merthyr Tydfil, said: “I’d been to say goodnight to the kids and had gone to get some ironing. The next thing I remember was being in the ambulance, and Phil and the kids were looking at me upset.
“There was no warning before I collapsed. No pain, palpitations or dizziness. I just went down.”
It took six minutes for Phil’s colleagues from the Welsh Ambulance Service to arrive on the scene. They used a defibrillator to restart her heart.
Cerys was taken to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales and is still undergoing treatment and tests.
She is now due to be fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator before her discharge.
Phil, a paramedic and clinical team leader based in Merthyr Tydfil, has thanked his colleagues.
He said: “I think it probably got quite heated on the 999 call but it was distressing, especially for the children. On behalf of the whole family, I’d like to thank my colleagues for their speedy response and professionalism – from the call handler to the allocator, to the paramedics and the doctors in the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service.
“It was an amazing team effort, and we’re so grateful for everything they did.”
The Welsh Ambulance Service is running its annual Shoctober campaign – encouraging people to learn CPR.
Phil said: “Every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest, and what happened to Cerys just goes to show that it can happen to anyone, at any time.”
Cerys added: “Words can’t express my gratitude – thank you is not enough.”