R A Brown Engineers Charlie Bartram, Jordan Read and Luke Brooks are doing a charity skydive on 29th September at Beccles skydiving centre in aid of The Charity Heart2heart as without their defibrillator being in place Richard would no longer be with us.
Story from the EDP:
Richard Brown collapsed and ‘died’ right next to defibrillator and friends sprang into action to save him. He only survived because he was within 10ft of a defibrillator. Richard Brown, 52, from Norwich had just finished skimming the waves at Gorleston when he complained of a tight-chest. After a sit-down he made to go home but collapsed and stopped breathing, his friend and club commodore Phil Harlow, said this week. Mr Harlow, who lives in Hopton, was at Gorleston and Great Yarmouth Sailing Club, close to the Pier Hotel in Gorleston on Thursday when the drama unfolded.
He said not only was Mr Brown fortunate to be near the life-saving equipment, club members had been trained to use it and knew the access code, unlocking precious seconds.
And in another twist the machine had been installed after Mr Brown performed CPR on another sailor who collapsed around three years ago, but sadly did not make it. “Thank God it was right next to one of the Heart 2 Heart defibrillators, They did a training day with us last year, 3 of our members went straight into action. I have never seen anything like it. “He just fell flat on his face, he didn’t even put his hands out. It was horrible to see. He was making gurgling noises and he was blue. The defibrillator was very clever. On the second shock we saw him start to breathe.Everyone was very emotional. They were upset while they were doing it, but not in a panic. “I watched someone literally dead and blue. It was like watching a miracle happen. It was incredible We are unbelievably grateful that Heart 2 Heart fitted a defibrillator right next to our sailing club, without that and the three club members giving Richard CPR he wouldn’t be here today.”