Many of you will be aware that on 10^th June, 2016, I suffered an out of hospital cardiac arrest whilst playing in a Charity Pro-Am golf tournament. Having completed 17 holes, on the 18^th tee, I collapsed without warning. My heart had stopped beating.

I was lucky. I was one of the approx. 5-8% to have survived such an event and this was primarily down to what they call the ‘Chain of Survival’. This is a sequence of actions that need to happen in a certain order and in a timely manner. Thames Valley Air Ambulance played a vital role in this chain.

I will always be thankful to my playing partners and great friends Bob, Kevin & Rhys who were quick to recognise my predicament, provide bystander CPR and call/liaise with the emergency services. The Fire & Rescue Service were the first of the emergency services on the scene and they were able to provide the initial defibrillation shock and continue manual CPR. On arrival of the local Ambulance Service, I was secured into a mechanical CPR machine (Lucas 2) and also medicated.

I was still without a pulse when the Thames Valley Air Ambulance arrived. Dr Jon Walker and HEMS Paramedic Gerry Lea took control and got to work bringing the skills and expertise of a hospital to the scene of the incident. The advanced Doctor and Paramedic team were able to perform critical medical procedures and interventions on scene.

I was ‘down’ (technically dead) for 45 minutes before I had ROSC which is the resumption of sustained perfusing cardiac activity (I regained a heartbeat) whereupon I was placed into an induced coma and provided with advanced airway management.

Dr Jon Walker escorted me to hospital and on route needed to perform a further four defibrillation shocks prior to handing me over to A&E RESUS.

It is clear that without this expertise, I would not be around to tell this story.

I was perplexed to learn that the Thames Valley Air Ambulance is a donation and fundraising only Charity. They do not receive any government funding neither do they receive lottery proceeds. They purely survive on donations and fundraising. It is therefore an honour and privilege to now be in the position to give something back and any support by sponsoring me for this Wing Walk event would be greatly appreciated.

Please take 2 minutes to view the short video of my visit to RAF Benson where my family and I were able to meet and personally thank the Air Ambulance team.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wp0mmsy9u53xvsv/TVAA%20Mark%20Meeting%20V1.mov?dl=0

Mark