Lion John roars back to good health
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A retired shopkeeper who has helped
raise thousands of pounds for the Kent Air Ambulance had to call on the
life-saving service himself after suffering a heart
attack.
Maidstone Lions Club president John
Bradford, 73, was at his home in Allington when he suddenly collapsed with a
cardiac arrest.
His wife Hilary dialled 999 and
carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) before paramedics
arrived.
The helicopter was called and landed
in a nearby school playing field before flying John to King’s
He said: “I had been up and dressed
and had taken my grandson to school when I started to feel
unwell.
“I changed back into my pyjamas and
went to bed and that’s when I collapsed with these awful chest pains. I don’t
remember anything after that.”
Three weeks later, the grandfather
of two was released from hospital and visited the Air Ambulance crew at their
base at Marden to say thank you.
He was so grateful to Dr
As a member of Maidstone Lions Club,
John had previously raised almost £4,000 for the charity which needs
£1.7m-a-year to keep the helicopter flying.
He said: “It does very good work but
I always realised that before I needed it, because of the fundraising we had
done for them.
“Having carried out collections with
the Lions, I’m more aware than most people of what the air ambulance
does.
“Obviously there are times when
people can’t be taken by land ambulance on long trips and the helicopter is so
much quicker.”
John, a former fishmonger, had no
history of heart trouble prior to his cardiac arrest on March
26.
He and his wife, a retired teacher,
are now looking forward to celebrating their golden wedding anniversary next
year.
Dr Kerslake said: “It was great to
see John looking so well compared with the last time we saw
him.
“He is exceptionally lucky, a lot of
patients who suffer cardiac arrest out of hospital are not so
fortunate.
“It was a good coordinated team
effort by the paramedics backed up by the helicopter crew which led to a very
successful outcome.”
Maidstone Lions Club was founded in
1959 and has helped hundreds of individuals and organisations since
then.
The club usually donates more than
£15,000 every year to deserving causes in the
