A man suddenly went blind the collapsed while shopping in Home Bargains, and says staff saved his life. Liam Johnston was shopping with his partner when he suddenly began to feel unwell.
The store's first aider started chest compressions when Liam's heart stopped, which proved the difference between life and death, reports The Echo. Liam, 38, said: "I was right in the middle of the aisle shopping when I started going blue. My eyes were going blurry and then I went blind. I dropped to the floor but my partner and some others in the store stopped me from banging my head when I went down.
"The next thing I remember was when I woke up on the floor as a paramedic tried to get me to sit up. I'd actually had a fit and they managed to get me on a stretcher and take me to A&E."
He added: "The first aider at the store gave me CPR and the manager was amazing. They both deserve recognition. I'll be going to the store later this week to drop off a card and a box of chocolates, but I can't thank them enough for saving my life."
Liam has since undergone tests to establish why he collapsed. It is thought he suffered an epileptic fit that caused his heart to stop.
He said: "I've always been fit as a fiddle and this scared the living daylights out of me. I can't go anywhere on my own and I can't go to a public place without feeling it's going to happen again.
"It was pretty scary and really put the fear of God into me. It felt like my body shutting down and then re-starting."
A spokesperson for Home Bargains said: "We are proud of our team members in all our stores for their work serving the communities we work in. We are especially proud of our team in Hanover Street - their quick reactions made such a difference for Mr Johnston.
"We hope he is feeling better, and we are so pleased to have been able to help him when he needed it."
