Joel suffered a sudden cardiac arrest due to undiagnosed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
A teenage boy who suffered a cardiac arrest outside Twickenham Stadium has been reunited with the team who saved his life.
In December 2021, Joel, then 16 and out with friends, suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and collapsed face-down onto the pavement.
London Ambulance Service paramedic Lee Emmet and junior doctor Dr Steffan Griffin were, fortunately, close by and able to quickly commence cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Within minutes, a security guard brought a defibrillator that was stored at the stadium and further assistance from the ambulance service arrived.
Advanced paramedic Kevin Cuddan made the decision to transfer Joel to St George’s in Tooting where he was cared for by an extensive team of specialist doctors and nurses.
Selfless.
Joel spent five days in the intensive care unit before he was moved to the cardiology ward where he was started on medication and had surgery to implant a cardioverter defibrillator, also known as an ICD.
He was subsequently diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a rare genetic disease that affects one in 500 people in the UK.
Dr Dominic Spray, Consultant in Cardiothoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care at St George’s Hospital, said: “Delivering effective CPR very quickly in this situation was key to ensure Joel’s best chance of survival.
“For every minute without CPR, a patient’s survival rate decreases by up to 10 percent, so early intervention was very important to prevent further widespread damage to Joel’s brain and other organs.”
Joel, now 18 and lives in Kew, southwest London, said: “Without the medics I wouldn’t be here today. I can’t thank them enough for saving my life. They are so selfless in the moments they’re focusing on saving a person’s life.”
