Chris Stemp

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Type of Incident – Cardiac Arrest

Date of Incident – 5^th August 2009

Time – 1815

Location – Kingsmead Leisure Centre, Canterbury

For 39 year old Canterbury man, Chris Stemp, life is certainly for living. He would be the first to agree with that statement when it comes to survival. The butcher, who lives in Sturry says “I must have done something right to have survived two near death situations” – the second incident needed the medical intervention of the HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) crew, but the first was 15 years before that.

Chris was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1993 - it was 12 months later that he suffered a hemorrhage inside the tumor that left him needing life-saving surgery.

Fast forward to 2009 and Chris was faced with another situation that he certainly wasn’t expecting. The drama began during one of his weekly training sessions at the Kingsmead Leisure Centre in Canterbury. He had been using the rowing machine when he collapsed, he said: "I remember working out on the running and cross-trainer machines but I have no memory of going on the rowing machine. The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital."

 

Two off-duty nurses and a paramedic who were at the gym rushed to his aid and started to try to get his heart working again while leisure centre staff called ambulance crews to the scene.

 

Chris said: "When something like this happens you really appreciate the National Health Service."

 

Paramedic Lee Warwick was closely followed by off-duty technician Dan Miles, who had been cleaning an ambulance at the Canterbury station when the call for assistance came through.

 

Paramedic, Lee Warwick said: "Chris was very lucky to have the off duty nurses and paramedic there to carry out the CPR - in my opinion this made all the difference to his outcome.”

 

He went on "Dan took over the CPR when he arrived while I shocked Chris using a defibrillator. I had to carry this out four times before we successfully revived him. He was technically dead for about 15 minutes."

 

It was then that the Kent Air Ambulance arrived on the scene, Doctor Carin Dear and Paramedic, Richard de Coverley carried on treating Chris in the land ambulance as he was blue-lighted to the Kent and Canterbury Hospital.

 

Doctor Carin Dear said “We are absolutely delighted that Chris is doing so well. It’s a real credit to the teamwork of all the people and medics involved in Chris’s treatment he was given.

 

Since then, Chris is making good progress and has also stopped smoking. He’s back at the gym, but working out very gently. Chris has also chosen to support the Kent Air Ambulance as much as he possibly can. He has recently held a darts event at his local social club where he raised over £150.

 

Chris said “I can’t thank everyone enough, from the people at the leisure centre to the ambulance and air ambulance medics – to the hospital staff. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”