After finishing his 185th Parkrun event, David Knowles felt faint and woke up in an ambulance – but that they woke up at all was down to a paramedic and two lifeguards who saved his life
A dad had a cardiac arrest at Parkrun but was saved by a paramedic and two lifeguards who had just finished their own laps.
David Knowles, 57, had just completed Bognor Regis Parkrun on November 2 when he sat down for a rest. The Parkrun veteran, with 185 runs under his belt, then felt faint, and awoke in an ambulance.
He learned he had gone into cardiac arrest – where his heart stopped beating – and had been helped by fellow Parkrunners. Alice Cox-Rusbridge, 23, an off-duty paramedic, and lifeguards Callum Strowger, 24, and Jake Miles, 22, administered CPR and shocks using a defibrillator. They managed to re-start his heart before David, a policing lecturer at University of Portsmouth, was whisked off to Queen Alexandra Hospital by ambulance.
He says he owes great thanks to everyone that helped save his life – and is hoping to be back at Parkrun as soon as possible. David, a dad-of-four said: “I had just run a gentle Parkrun and sat down for a moment. I felt two seconds of dizziness and then woke up in an ambulance.
“I recall being wheeled into hospital but I was on morphine and it felt like I was in a dream. I’ve not been home since, but I’m having tests and procedures done, and I’m doing well. How fortunate am I that I had a defib machine so close by, and three amazing young people there who saved my life?”
Experienced runner David pulled up to complete his 185th Parkrun last week, and felt completely fine as he crossed the finish line. But when he sat down for a rest, he felt faint – and moments later the dad-of-four had a cardiac arrest. He was spotted by first aid-trained lifeguards Callum and Jake, who had just completed their own runs.
Callum said: “Jake and I were both talking at the end of our park runs. We saw a guy on the floor on their side. We went over and quickly established he was unresponsive. It was like he was having a seizure. A nurse – Jennifer – came over as well. It was a bit of a blur.”
Then off-duty paramedic Alice was called over to help. Alice, from Pagham, West Sussex, said: “I ran over and rolled him onto his back – he was unconscious and not breathing properly. I recognised his agonal breathing – gasping for breath – and knew he was having a cardiac arrest. I started chest compressions and told the boys to get the AED (automated external defibrillator) and we were able to give him a shock. After a few rounds of CPR and one shock, David was breathing again.”
He was then rushed to hospital where his wife and two youngest daughters were waiting for him. He underwent tests and procedures and scans as doctors tried to establish what had caused a cardiac arrest in a 57-year-old healthy, fit, active, non-drinking and non-smoking person.
A week on, David remains in hospital but is feeling much better – as doctors continue to try to work out the cause. Statistics show just 7-8% of people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Thanks to the nearby AED, plus the fast action of Alice, Callum, Jake and the parkrun team, David was one of them.
David said he plans to get back to Parkrun when he’s doing better – because he wants to complete his 200th run. He has signed up to be a ‘Parkwalker’ in a couple of weeks time to motivate him to get back on his feet.
He said: “Because of me going to Parkrun, my life was saved. I could have been alone, walking or driving, when I arrested. But because I was there with so many lovely Parkrun people around me, my life was saved. I want to say a huge thank you to the Bognor Parkrun team, and of course Alice, Callum and Jake.
“I’m planning to meet up with the three of them next week so I can thank them – and maybe buy them a beer. Young people get bad press but they saved the life of a complete stranger. Those young people are the reason my kids still have a dad.”
Callum said: “I couldn’t have been prouder to work with the team. The main thing is the guy is alive.”
