A grandad participating in a five-a-side football kickabout joked ‘get the defib ready for me’ minutes before suffering a massive heart attack. Dean Finch, 65, collapsed at grandson Zac’s seventh birthday party and began foaming at the mouth as he went into cardiac arrest.
The quick-thinking actions of daughter Lois, who was a student nurse at the time, helped save Dean's life. It was the first time Lois had performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in real life.
She used a defibrillator, which is an important step in the CPR process, to restart his heart. Lois, 31, said: "He was standing at the bar and suddenly collapsed. My friend screamed and everyone just stopped what they were doing. His mouth was foaming, he was on the floor and he looked like he was fitting.
"I just dropped everything and ran straight across to him and put him in the recovery position. I shouted for someone to phone an ambulance but everyone just looked at me. I think they didn't know what to do, so I rang one. It was just fight or flight and I just went into nurse mode really."
At the time of the dramatic incident in June, Lois was in the third year of her children's nursing degree at the University of Lincoln. She had only ever performed CPR and used a defibrillator on a doll in her university lessons.
She never thought she would have to save her dad's life. The single-mum-of-two said: "I was only a student nurse at the time and we had been taught this sort of stuff at university on dolls. But you would never think to experience doing it on your own dad. It was the first time I had done anything really.
"I'm now qualified as a children's nurse so you only learn the basics because I'm children trained, not adult trained." Thankfully, Dean, a sales manager, has been able to make a full recovery after having a triple heart bypass.
He was even able to watch Lois graduate in September this year. Lois, from Brigg, Lincolnshire, said: "He's back at work and he's fully fit, it's crazy really. Doctors said he had a massive heart attack. This then caused him to go into cardiac arrest. His dad actually died at 57 of a heart attack so I'm guessing it's the same thing. My dad was absolutely fine beforehand.
"He wasn't ill or on any medication before the day, so obviously it all came as shock. Luckily, my dad was able to come and watch me graduate after coming out of hospital, which was so lovely for him and me."
Lois also wants to thank Dan and Louis, who both work at the Goals football centre in Doncaster, South Yorkshire, where the party was being held. They both assisted Lois in giving CPR to Dean, helped calm and comfort Lois' mum Joy, and escorted children out of the room.
Lois said: "Dan and Louis were both fantastic. They've done their training but they've never experienced anything like it. They were fabulous, the sheer compassion that they showed me and my family was amazing. No words can thank them."
