Hoddesdon man reunited with the ambulance crew who saved his life after a cardiac arrest
Date: 20 March 2025Michael Barber, from Hoddesdon, visited Harlow ambulance station with cards and flowers in the hope that he would be able to find the clinicians who came to his aid.
On 29 December, Mr Barber began experiencing chest pains after coming home from a walk. He took indigestion tablets hoping they would relieve his symptoms, but the pain got gradually worse.
Mr Barber said: “I planned on calling 111, but my wife recommended 999. I'm, so glad we did. We were seen by Harriet and Sarah, who quickly did an ECG and had notified Lister Hospital.
"I was lying on the table in hospital receiving treatment, the doctor was great and explained everything that was going on. I then felt worse, sweaty and the next thing I remember was waking up on the ward”.
Mr Barber had suffered a cardiac arrest shortly after Harriet, a paramedic team leader, and Sarah, an apprentice paramedic, handed over care to the Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI team). During the cardiac catheterization procedure, it was discovered that he had a complete blockage of his right coronary artery.
Mr Barber said: "Hattie and Sarah are unsung heroes. I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for them”.
Tanoh Asamoah-Danso, leading operations manager for West Essex, said "It is amazing to see the fantastic work that Hattie and Sarah do every shift, manifested in such a wonderfully positive outcome. We are all so proud of them. I'd also like to extend a huge thank you to Jenna, who dispatched the crew as a priority to the incident.”
