Twenty months after John Ollerenshaw's life was saved thanks to the actions of one determined employee at the Princess Pavilion, the Flushing pensioner was back last week to help celebrate the installation of a new public-access defibrillator.
Mr Ollerenshaw had suffered a heart attack upon arriving at the pavilion for lunch with his wife, Sylvia, and the couple are sure that if it was not for the swift actions of catering team leader Ceinwen Morgans, he would not have survived. Cei spent 30 minutes administering CPR and only stopped when the paramedics arrived.
The near-fatal incident highlighted the need for a defibrillator on site so the Friends of the Princess Pavilion (FOPS) set themselves the challenge of raising the money needed to buy one. Mr Ollerenshaw and his life-saver Cei were reunited last week when that new defibrillator was officially handed over and made available for public use.
The FOPS had raised the money through raffles at their regular monthly meetings and had also received a number of cash donations from members and other members of the local community who had heard about the fundraising.
The group had previously handed over a cheque for £649 and last week presented Tempus Leisure, who run the pavilion, with the remaining £851 which in total has covered the cost of the defibrillator and the necessary training.
The defibrillator has been installed on the wall next to the main entrance to the Princess Pavilion, which means it is available for use even when the theatre and bar are closed.
It's arrival has been welcomed by Mr Ollerenshaw, who has made a full recovery following his health scare. "I could have had my cardiac arrest anywhere, but I was lucky that I was here and Cei was here and that she knew exactly what to do," he said.
"I don't know how she found the energy to carry on for that length of time, but at least now there is this defibrillator to help. With the best will in the world, the paramedics cannot guarantee to get here on time and every minute counts. This (the defibrillator) will definitely help."
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