A man from north-west London who survived a cardiac arrest while out running has become the first person to sign up for this year\u2019s London Life Hike.<\/p>\n
Rob Hutt, who was 59 at the time, collapsed last summer during a run near his home. Two other runners stopped to help, giving him CPR after calling 999 \u2013 an act that ultimately saved his life.<\/p>\n
Rob, a dad of three and grandfather of three, said: \u201cIt\u2019s a miracle I\u2019m alive. Those strangers were responsible for that miracle. I\u2019m taking part in this year\u2019s London Life Hike so more miracles will happen and more lives will be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event, organised by the London Ambulance Charity, takes place on Sunday 27 September. All funds raised will go towards installing defibrillators across London and training people in how to perform CPR.<\/p>\n
Participants can choose from two scenic walking routes \u2013 a family-friendly 6km or a longer 21km through central London, passing some of the city\u2019s most iconic landmarks. Rob, now recovering well, has signed up for the longer route.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhen I collapsed I was really fit and healthy \u2013 I was training for a triathlon and hadn\u2019t felt unwell. I have no memory of that day but I have since learned how lucky I am to be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Rob collapsed last July, he had just finished a 15-mile bike ride. The London Ambulance Service call handler quickly recognised the emergency and instructed the callers on how to give chest compressions. The crew arrived and delivered two shocks with a defibrillator, which returned his heart to a normal rhythm. Rob was then taken to hospital and placed in an induced coma.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI was eventually discharged after a fortnight. Things are getting back to normal, I\u2019m back at work, but I\u2019m changed \u2013 I don\u2019t put off what I want to do now. I\u2019ve also become a very passionate advocate for learning CPR.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout CPR none of the other brilliant professionals would have been given the chance to save me. I know that giving CPR is scary but I want to reassure people that survivors can never truly express how grateful they are because there are simply not the words.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the greatest gift you can give anyone. It saved my life and it means I can see my children and grandchildren. I have so much to live for.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the London Ambulance Service, fewer than one in 10 people survive a cardiac arrest \u2013 but CPR and early defibrillation can more than double a person\u2019s chances of survival.<\/p>\n
Last year\u2019s London Life Hike raised \u00a325,000 \u2013 enough to fund 15 defibrillators for communities across the capital.<\/p>\n
Dr Fenella Wrigley, Chief Medical Officer and acting Chief Executive of London Ambulance Service, said: \u201cWe have some of the fastest ambulance response times in the country for cardiac arrest patients but for patients like Rob, every second counts.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone can learn the simple skills to give someone a chance of life. By learning what to do, people will have the confidence to step up when it really matters.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jess Burgess, Head of London Ambulance Charity, added: \u201cRob is an inspiration and it is an honour for us that he is the first person to sign up for a place on the London Life Hike.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis life was saved because people cared enough to make a difference \u2013 we can all make a difference! Please sign up to join us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The walk starts and ends at Southwark Park Bandstand. Alongside the walk, there will be CPR training, children\u2019s activities, and a chance to see historic vehicles from London Ambulance Service\u2019s collection.<\/p>\n
Never miss another news story, subscribe to Harrow Online for FREE!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man from north-west London who survived a cardiac arrest while out running has become the first person…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147142,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7757],"tags":[748,393,4884,7833,257,136,7834,63221,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-147141","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-london","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-harrow-online","12":"tag-london","13":"tag-london-ambulance-service","14":"tag-london-news","15":"tag-north-west-london","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114603201544397819","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147141","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147141"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147141\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147142"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147141"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147141"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147141"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}