Lucky Memento for Cardiac Arrest Patient

A patient has been given a framed ‘lucky penny’ by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service crew who saved his life.

Seventy-year-old Stephen Walker was playing walking football with his friends at Goole Leisure Centre when he collapsed in cardiac arrest earlier this year.

Goole-based Paramedics Liz Cundy and Martin Pringle and Student Paramedic Angie Clayton used cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and a defibrillator to resuscitate Stephen before transferring him to Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham where he had a stent fitted. He made a remarkable recovery and was discharged four days later.

While Stephen was in the ambulance, some money fell out of his pocket, the majority of which was returned but when the crew were cleaning the vehicle ready for the next patient, they found a solitary penny. Angie framed it and presented the ‘lucky penny’ to Stephen when he was reunited with his life-savers on Friday 7 July 2017.

Angie said: “When I found Stephen’s leftover penny in the ambulance, I made sure I kept it the right way up for luck. It was great to hear that Stephen had made a fantastic recovery and as luck was obviously on his side that day, I decided to frame the lucky penny as a gift.”

Stephen, who lives in Brayton, near Selby, attended the emotional reunion with his family and they were all thrilled to be given the opportunity to thank the ambulance staff in person.

The grandfather-of-four-said: “I’ve been discharged by my consultant who is really happy with my progress; we can’t thank the ambulance service enough for what they did that day.”

During the reunion, Stephen was given the honour of presenting Liz, Angie and Martin with their Yorkshire Ambulance Service Divisional Commander’s Certificates in recognition of their life-saving efforts that day.

Andy Pippin, Sector Commander East for Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said: “This is another great example of how our staff work tirelessly to improve pre-hospital care and have a positive impact on the lives of others. What Liz, Martin and Angie were able to do for Stephen that day is the reason we are all so proud to work for the ambulance service.”