COACH BROUGHT ‘BACK TO LIFE’

A FOOTBALL coach who had a cardiac arrest on the pitch was saved by the quick thinking of colleagues who used an on-site defibrillator to bring him back to life.

Club president Martyn Dicker, 56, had been acting as linesman when he collapsed at Chipperfield Corinthians’ Queen Street home ground in the middle of the senior reserves’ match last Saturday afternoon.

Players and coaches immediately grabbed the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) from the clubhouse and administered an electric shock to the stricken grandfather’s chest.

Although Martyn had initially turned blue and was not breathing, CPR compressions by one of the players, combined with the use of the AED brought him back to life.

Paramedics were on the scene within minutes and the father-of-three –whose son Hayden, 23, had been playing in the match – was rushed to Harefield hospital where he successfully underwent surgery to have a heart stent fitted. An air ambulance landed on the pitch, but it was thought safer to transport Martyn by road.

After a three-night stay he is now recuperating at his Chipperfield home with his wife Ruth, and other son Tristan, 26. His pregnant daughter Sophie, 27, lives nearby with her two young children.

Martyn said: “To be honest I’ve been living in a bubble since it happened. I’ve been in shock. You just don’t think this kind of thing can happen to you. It’s hard to comprehend.”