‘i Saved my fiancée’s Life’
Richard Tucker, 48, woke one night to the most terrible scene – but what he did next was to prove truly incredible
It was a typical thursday evening. after eating a Chinese in front of the tv, my partner bridget and i headed to bed. of the two of us she was a light sleeper and in the four years we’d been together she was always the one who’d wake me when I was snoring. But that night, last october, I was the one who stirred at 3am. I realised Bridget, 48, was gurgling – that’s what had woken me. In my sleepy haze I thought she was dreaming and tried to wake her, but she didn’t respond. ‘Bridget?’ I called out again, but still no answer. Trying to remain calm, I turned on the light, and went round to her side of the bed. I’d been first aid trained for my railway job, so I instinctively felt for her pulse. when I couldn’t feel anything I began to panic. I called out to Bridget’s daughter anna, 18, to phone 999. Remembering my training I lifted Bridget on to the floor to do chest compressions. I breathed into her mouth and then started pushing her chest 30 times. nothing.
Fighting for life
Refusing to give up, I started again with another round of compressions, then another. something compelled me to keep trying. I had to fight for Bridget.
Then, after 15 minutes, George, the local first aid volunteer who’d been called by the 999 operator, arrived. He had a defibrillator – a device to shock the heart. Immediately he put it on Bridget’s chest and electricity coursed through her. ‘There’s a pulse,’ he said.
minutes later the paramedics burst into the bedroom. anna and I watched helplessly as she was carried into the ambulance on a stretcher and then rushed to a&e.
all doctors knew was that she’d suffered a cardiac arrest. For the next five days, as she lay in a coma, I sat by her hospital bed, willing her to survive. Then Bridget opened her eyes and with each day she grew stronger. Doctors have told us if I hadn’t given first aid she probably would have died.
after three weeks Bridget had a pacemaker fitted – a device to regulate her heart. now the only sign of her ordeal is a 4in scar.
It’s because of me she’s here now but I still can’t believe I’ve won the First aid Champion award. I just did what anyone would have done.