Christopher Solomons Wakefield, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom – 48 at time of event (2010)
As an emergency medical dispatcher for Yorkshire Air Ambulance, Christopher Solomons had answered countless calls for help from people who'd witnessed someone collapse in sudden cardiac arrest.
Chris never expected he would become the one who needed help. While driving to work, Chris began having chest pain.
"I did not think much of it at the time, so I carried on driving to work," he says. Then his arm started to tingle, he began to sweat and the pain intensified. He tried to pull over and call for help, but his hands were spasming and he couldn't get the phone from his pocket. He stumbled into his office, where paramedics James Vine and Lee Davison quickly realized something was wrong.
Soon, Chief Pilot Steve Cobb and Jon Anderson, a cameraman from the BBC filming the documentary "Helicopter Heroes," came running.
"By this time I was in a lot of pain," Chris Solomons says.
The paramedics hooked him up to a defibrillator, which showed he was having a heart attack. Within moments, Chris Solomons' heart stopped and he went into cardiac arrest. His colleagues were trained for such an emergency. They began CPR, shocked him twice with the Lifepac 12 Defibrillator and flew him to the catheterization lab at Leeds General Infirmary.
"All this happened within two hours of my first signs of pain," Chris Solomons says.
Since his near death, Chris Solomons has stopped smoking and has taken steps to reduce stress.
As for the colleagues whose quick action saved his life, "they are now very special friends."
Saved at Leeds Bradford Airport in England Date of SCA: July 24, 2010
Rescued by paramedics James Vine and Lee Davison, pilot Steve Cobb and BBC cameraman John Anderson.
Sponsor: B. Braun Medical
edited by Jeremy Whitehead