A Scots cyclist who suffered a ‘catastrophic’ cardiac arrest has been reunited with a hero paramedic who helped to save his life.
Steven Clark was cycling from his home in Kincardine, Fife, to meet his wife, Mary, at their caravan in Pitlochry in Perth and Kinross when he suddenly became unwell during the 70-mile journey in August 2020. With just one mile to go, the 62-year-old fell from his bike and crashed onto the ground, knocking him unconscious.
Recalling the horror incident, Steven said: “My only memory of this day now is prompted by a photo I took of myself having a coffee in Dunkeld approximately 15 miles from my destination – as we now know I didn’t make it. With around a mile to go, it seems I suffered a catastrophic cardiac arrest crashing off my bike onto the roadside in a crumpled heap.”
Steven was initially found by a local vet, who went on to perform CPR on him by the roadside. Shortly after, a van that contained two trained paramedics and a nurse on holiday from London stopped to help.
Steven said: “Someone was definitely looking out for me.”
CPR was performed on Steven by the hero passersby for 29 minutes before emergency crews arrived at the scene. Ambulance teams arrived by road before a helicopter from Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) was able to land adjacent to the A9 near Pitlochry.
Crews went on to assist other healthcare professionals in attendance. Steven was later informed that it was at this point a defibrillator was used twice on him at the scene before another device was used on him a third time after he was taken to Ninewelfls Hospital in Dundee.
Meanwhile, growing increasingly concerned over Steven’s nonappearance, his wife Mary rushed to his side after the police advised her of the situation. SCAA airlifted Steven who was transferred to the cardiology department in Ninewells.
Steven said: “I was rushed in to have an emergency procedure to insert a stent in my main artery which had been blocked by plaque stopping the flow of blood to my heart,” he reflects. I was then put in an induced coma for the next two days while in recovery. I’m grateful to the SCAA crew who met my wife when she arrived at the hospital to update her on my condition.
“Fortunately, everything went well and just over a week after the accident I was allowed to leave the hospital and recuperate at home for the next few months. I was extremely fortunate to have only sustained a very large scar on my knee and minor memory loss due to the incident – how lucky is that!”
Four years on, Steven is back to leading a normal life and has even jumped back into his bicycle saddle for more long-distance cycles with Mary – including the same route he did the day of his accident. Recently, he visited SCAA’s Perth base and met with one of the charity’s paramedics who helped Steven on the day of his accident.
Steven said: “I cannot thank all the people enough who were involved in helping me at that time, and clearly without the aid of SCAA getting me to hospital quickly and the fast reaction of passersby, I would not be here to retell my story.”
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