Man who collapsed at wheel suffering cardiac arrest saved - by off-duty nurse

23 December 2023 , 19:03

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'John literally wouldn't be here today without everything Demi did' (Image: NHS/Liverpool University Hospitals)

A man who experienced a cardiac arrest whilst at the wheel of his car is celebrating Christmas with his family - after his life was saved by an off-duty nurse.

Father-of-three John McKeown collapsed in his car in Liverpool on 11 November before a passer-by flagged down Demi Murphy. According to the BBC, the student nurse said: "I just jumped in his car and started doing CPR while he was in the driver's seat."

Mr McKeown's partner Vicky Flattery added: "John literally wouldn't be here today without everything Demi did." The day he stopped breathing also happened to be the ninth anniversary of their baby son's death.

Ms Murphy, 21, was returning home from a meal out with friends when she was flagged down. A friend called for an ambulance as she performed resuscitation on Mr McKeown.

Meanwhile, Ms Flattery had rang to check where he was, and found himself speaking to Ms Murphy who attempted to reassure her, and check about his medical history. Ms Flattery said: "I'm not usually one to believe in fate but I was sure we were going to lose him, there was someone looking over us that day." Demi has worked at Royal Liverpool University Hospital for three years and said that paramedics helped her with a defibrillator once they had arrived on the scene.

Baby boy has spent his life in hospital as doctors are 'scared' to discharge him

Nurse Demi Murphy (NHS/Liverpool University Hospitals)

"Once they had a pulse, he was put in the ambulance and taken to hospital." Mr McKeown, 37, was taken to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, and it was discovered he had experienced a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest. The condition is when the heart quivers instead of pumping like normal. He was immediately taken into intensive care as he had experienced a seizure, having been starved of oxygen.

Surgeons fitted an implantable cardiac defibrillator which detects and stops irregular heartbeats. Ms Flattery said her partner was recovering at home and "doesn't have any memory of the incident or the few days before it happened, even some things that happened last month are hazy for him, but it could have been so much worse".

"We're just really thankful that Demi was in the right place at the right time and all the other paramedics and hospital teams worked to save John so he could come home to his children and his family."

Charlie Duffield