Pic credit: Sussex world
Kip Knowles, 58, has reunited with the three school staff members who saved his life last year, after he collapsed in cardiac arrest while cycling alone on the South Downs. PE teacher Stacey Charman, cookery teacher Chellie Messenger and school nurse Claire Agnew performed CPR for around 25 minutes and used a defibrillator to restart his heart. The cyclist was Kip Knowles, 57, who had been riding alone on the South Downs. She called 999 and used her walkie-talkie to radio the school for its defibrillator. She has worked in nursing for 42 years and admits that her first thought was that Kip was dead. I know what a dead body looks like; I’ve done this for 42 years. After roughly 25 minutes of CPR, Kip took a breath and sat up.
The women were honoured by St John Ambulance’s Lifesavers at Work Awards for their lifesaving actions, Sussex World reported. The charity launched the initiative to recognise inspirational lifesavers in workplaces across the UK.
I was in the zone, the training kicked in, and nothing around me could stop me from carrying on,” she told the outlet. I was thinking – this man is the age of my husband,” she said. The event was held at Chapter Hall at St John’s Gate, London. It was a regular afternoon. After lunch, Stacey Charman and Chellie Messenger were on a walk from Windlesham House School when Chellie’s dog, Waffle, led them along an unusual route. They saw a cyclist collapse on the road. He had collapsed in cardiac arrest. They didn’t freeze. Stacey began CPR straight away. “Everything was a complete blur apart from Kip. Chellie wasted no time. Chellie was performing CPR on a person other than a training manikin for the first time. “It was horrible to see, but we didn’t stop. It wasn’t a case of ‘that’s it, he’s gone’. Soon, school nurse Claire Agnew arrived with the defibrillator. She delivered two shocks. “I thought he was dead. That day, Kip Knowles got his life back. Exactly one year after the incident, he reunited with the three women as they were honoured with national lifesaving awards. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.