Couple’s fundraising success after cardiac arrest

Cardiac arrest survivor Mike Duck and his wife Jenny have helped to raise vital funds for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity to buy life-saving equipment and provide support for ambulance staff and volunteers.

In a recent reunion with the paramedics and staff who responded to Jenny’s emergency call, Mike was able to meet those who had treated him and thank them personally for their care and hear more about what had happened on that day.

On the evening of 29 September 2024, Mike’s partner Jenny called 999 after Mike had started to feel unwell at home and collapsed. Jenny started CPR, under instruction from the 999-call handler, until the ambulance crews arrived. A team of ambulance clinicians treated Mike, resuscitated him and he was taken to Castle Hill Hospital in Hull, where he was treated for two weeks before returning home.

Mike, 59, from Hull, said: “I was told that I had effectively died, and it was touch and go. It’s scary to think what could have happened if Jenny hadn’t started CPR and if the ambulance crew hadn’t arrived so quickly. They saved my life and it has been great to be able to meet the crew who came to my help, and to talk about what happened, as I have no memory of what occurred.”

Mike has made a good recovery and, after being together for 13 years, he and Jenny married earlier this year. Because they wanted to give something back to those that had helped Mike, rather than receive gifts for their wedding, they decided to fundraise for the YAS Charity instead.

Jenny said: “When we were planning the wedding, we decided that we already had everything we needed and didn’t want people to buy us gifts. Instead, we asked people to donate to the ambulance service because if it hadn’t been for them, we wouldn’t have been able to get married and we wanted to say thank you. Everybody gave so generously and we raised £1,000 and then my employer, John Good Group, runs a scheme through The Matthew Good Foundation, which double-matches all employee fundraising which means we’ve been able to raise £3,000, which is amazing. It’s great to know that the funds will contribute towards training and defibs, which will help to save lives, which is so important to Mike and I.”

Sarah Aston, YAS Charity Officer, who received the donation on behalf of the YAS Charity said: “We cannot thank Mike and Jenny enough for their kind and generous donation to the YAS Charity. It was great to hear about Mike’s recovery and we are so grateful to them for choosing to support the Charity and to benefit from the generous donations of their wedding guests but also to receive the matched funding from Jenny’s employer.

“This donation will go towards funding community defibrillators, as well as CPR training to help increase the confidence of people to perform CPR, like Jenny did, and providing support to our ambulance service staff and volunteers.

“The YAS Charity relies entirely on the generous donations from individuals and businesses to enable it to support and provide life-saving initiatives across the region.”

For more information about the YAS Charity and opportunities to raise funds, please visit www.yascharity.org.uk  

ENDS

Picture caption:
Mike and Jenny, with son Alfie, (far right) met with YAS staff (pictured left to right) Jon, Aneka, Sally, Maddie and Jon and handed over a cheque to Sarah, from YAS Charity.

Note to editors
The Yorkshire Ambulance Service Charity is committed to helping save more lives across the region by enabling everyone to respond in a medical emergency. This includes supporting the roll-out of more defibrillators in communities, funding equipment and materials and first aid education.