A grandfather who suffered a cardiac arrest while taking his grandson to a physio appointment says being in Ipswich Hospital at the time "saved my life".
John Ashbee, 73, was in the waiting room with Toby, 21, when his heart stopped beating and he lost consciousness.
Hospital staff sprung into action and successfully resuscitated the 73-year-old before transferring him to the cardiology department, where he was immediately fitted with two stents.
Just hours later, John was sitting up in bed and asking when he could return home to Kesgrave.
"Toby and I were chatting in the waiting room and he thought I’d fallen asleep as I suddenly went quiet," said John.
"When he couldn’t wake me, he called for help – and that’s when the hospital staff leapt into action.
"They were just brilliant and acted fantastically.
"I feel like such a lucky guy – if you’re going to have a cardiac arrest, the best place to have it is a hospital.
"If I had been in town at the time the outcome would have been so much graver and I don’t think I’d still be here today."
The incident, which happened in September, saw John spend two days in hospital before he was well enough to be discharged.
He now says he feels better than he has for some time and is attending cardio rehab sessions while also doing lots of walking to further build up his strength.
"It’s frightening how quickly it happened," added John.
"I’d had some chest pains and tests on my heart, but felt perfectly alright on that particular day.
"I now feel a lot better than I have for some time and want to say a huge thank you to the whole team for saving my life and the faultless care they gave me."
Dr Peter Brown, consultant cardiologist at East Suffolk and North Essex Foundation Trust and clinical lead for cardiology at Ipswich Hospital, looked after John following his cardiac arrest.
He said: "Staff from various departments responded quickly and worked together incredibly well to resuscitate John and help to save his life. They all deserve huge credit for their actions.
"We are really pleased that John is making a good recovery and wish him well with his continued rehabilitation."
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