Londoner shocked 26 times reunites with paramedics who saved him

An east London man who paramedics saved with 26 shocks from a defibrillator has thanked the ambulance crews at an emotional reunion this week.

James Ronan, 47, from Plaistow, felt sharp pains in the left side of his chest shortly after arriving home from a dinner with his stepdaughters. His wife, Veneta, called 999. James was having a heart attack.

When London Ambulance Service crews arrived James suddenly went into cardiac arrest. The paramedics fought to save him and delivered 26 shocks from a defibrillator – a machine used to give an electric shock to restart a patient’s heart.

James, who works as a lorry driver, said: “I felt a bit unwell when we came home from having dinner and Veneta phoned for an ambulance. The paramedics did an electrocardiogram to record the signals in my heart and saw that I needed to go to hospital.

“Suddenly, my heart stopped and I lost consciousness. The ambulance crews worked on me for over an hour and it was not until much later that I learned how severe it was.”

When someone has a heart attack, blood flow to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot, and it can be life-threatening. A heart attack can change the heart’s electric signals that leads to sudden cardiac arrest.

With blue lights on, sirens blaring and no time to lose, the paramedics urgently took James to the Heart Attack Centre at St Bartholomew’s Hospital where he had surgery to open his arteries with stents.

And following his quick recovery, James has met the paramedics at West Ham Ambulance Station to say ‘thank you’ for saving his life.

James added: “They were fantastic. I’ll be forever grateful and can’t thank them enough. It’s unbelievable. I was literally a dead man.”

His wife Veneta said: “He was in so pain I had to call an ambulance. My daughter was screaming and didn’t want me to see what was happening.”

Andy Parker, Advanced Paramedic at London Ambulance Service, attended to support his colleagues on scene.

He said: “James survived his cardiac arrest due to the incredible teamwork of the clinicians on scene. It’s great to see that he has made a fantastic recovery.

“It is rare that patients need that many shocks. However, it’s vital that bystanders continue to use a defibrillator and do chest compressions until our clinicians arrive.

“James is living proof that defibrillators do work. These devices are easy to use and anyone can use them. That’s why our London Heart Starters campaign is raising money to fund additional defibrillators so that local communities can save a loved one from a cardiac arrest.”

James is now looking forward to driving again. He added: “I can’t wait to get behind the wheel of my lorry.”

Analysis for the Heart Starters campaign has found there are 150 neighbourhoods in London where there is no or limited public access to defibrillators affecting chances of survival.

There are 14 priority neighbourhoods in the borough of Newham where James lives where defibrillators are most needed. These are Beckton North, Forest Gate East, Wallend North, Forest Gate North, Little Ilford East, West Ham Park, East Ham South West, Lonsdale Avenue, Stratford East, East Ham North, Plashet West, East Ham West, Wallend South and Plaistow South.

Help us raise money for our life-saving Heart Starters campaign on our dedicated London Ambulance Charity website here.