A Lurgan man has opened up on his life after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest.
Ryan Nelson, 44, took a sudden cardiac arrest on his doorstep on August 9, 2021 as he arrived home with a coffee for his wife.
His life was saved by his wife, son, neighbours and emergency services.
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NIAS road ambulance paramedics attended the scene, followed by the Helicopter Emergency Medical Service team and a defibrillator was used to shock the dad-of-three's heart.
Ryan, who was a delivery driver for 20 years, was transported to the Royal Victoria Hospital and was fitted with an Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD device).
He has now opened up on the after effects he has experienced.
Speaking to Belfast Live about the traumatic incident, the NI man said: "My wife didn't see it happen but she looked out and seen me lying there.
"My wife Vivienne, she started the CPR, Corey [Ryan's son] took over, she was going to get help... he called 999 then.
"The neighbour Michael came over then, he administered the chest pumps... going forward, that's the only reason I'm here because the CPR was done properly.
"Siobhan, a nurse, lives down the street, she came down. She was able to go into more detail with the call handler."
Ryan explained how he was fit up until this point, as he'd been coaching and playing football and averaging over 30,000 steps per day with his job at the time.
The Lurgan man added: "It's the major shock that it happened.
"All I've been told is the electrics in my heart went out. I haven't been told anything else since."
He also expressed how he is grateful for the help he received, and is fighting for better aftercare.
Ryan said: "The first responders, the likes of the ambulance, the hospital, my doctor, honestly couldn't do more for me. My doctor has been unbelievable.
"It's the after effects for myself, the after effects for my family and the after effects for anybody who done the first aid, because of what they've been through, their lives are never going to be the same either.
"Realistically speaking, I was down for 26 minutes. I know myself if I witnessed this, I wouldn't be the same.
"It's trying to get treatment for them.
"I am constantly exhausted, 26 minutes with no oxygen, so it's going to be three or four years before my body tries to get back to anywhere near what it was.
"It's down to the fact mine was an out of hospital cardiac arrest. Because it's out of hospital, you've more chance of dying.
"It took me a year to get respiratory treatment.. Whenever I went to the course, the guy told me, basically face-to-face that it's going to be no good for me because it was for people who had heart attacks...
"It took about 10 months to get physiotherapy. You can't lift your left arm for your first six to eight weeks when you have your device fitted.
"You get frozen shoulder and you've no movement in your arm by the end of that period because your arm hasn't moved."
He told Belfast Live how different his life is now a year and a half on from his sudden cardiac arrest.
Ryan added: "There's no words that I can say to thank everybody. The first responders, my family, my brothers, sisters, mum, even mates that I played football with, the messages of support and all, that got me through it.
"I am alive now, but my life's completely different.
"See for my first year after it, you are sitting thinking to yourself, 'Is life going to be normal again?' It's the fact that there was no aftercare. I just didn't know where I was going, how I was going to cope. I came across a group on Facebook [Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK] and that basically saved me."
Ryan, who has returned to work in a new job, based at home, has been to Parliament twice to talk about his experience, working with Rapid Response Revival and Defibrillators All-Party Parliamentary Group.
Another trip is being planned with Sudden Cardiac Arrest UK.
Ryan is fighting for and raising awareness of kids learning CPR, after-care, importance of knowing the locations of defibrillators, and more.
He said: "Going forward, I want to try and help other people... because the aftercare simply isn't there.
"I can vouch for it first hand..."
Ryan also added: "It's to help others going forward...
"The other thing we were fighting for too over there was the insurance policies, the insurance policies are an absolute disgrace... I wasn't covered [on my policy]...
"They never paid me out.
"People have their policies and they don't know what they are covered for...
"People need to check their policies to see if they're covered."
He wants to help others who are going through what he has, along with their families and all those involved.
Ryan said: "If you can help one person, it's a job done.
"Your life is never the same after it... Your life's been turned upside down..."
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