A close shave
When Gordon Kennedy collapsed during his round with a heart arrhythmia, the situation looked bleak.
Fortunately, a customer and colleagues came to the rescue.
A postman for nearly three years, Gordon works at Totton Delivery Office in Southampton where his wife, Paula, has also been a postwoman for more than 20 years.
Gordon had just posted mail through customer Lesley Molony’s letterbox when his heartbeat became irregular and he fell to the ground unconscious.
Within minutes he was found by Lesley who had returned home from work early following a meeting. Luckily, Lesley works at a nearby hospital (in data collection) and is trained in first aid.
‘Fate was on my side,’ said Gordon. ‘She found me minutes after I collapsed and performed CPR on me. If she hadn’t found me so quickly, that would have been it.’
Gordon’s colleagues Alysha Webb and Adam Cripps, who had been delivering nearby, called for an ambulance. In another strange twist of fate, Gordon knew the paramedic, Julie Bailey, from when they had previously worked together at a time when Gordon was restocking ambulances.
‘She got a surprise when she turned up and rolled me over,’ said Gordon.
He has now made a good recovery and is back to full duties. ‘I’m eternally grateful to Lesley,’ he added. ‘We’ve since met up for dog walks in the forest a few times – we’ve got lurchers and she has a cocker spaniel – and she’s a lovely lady. I literally owe my life to her.’
As a way of saying thank you, Gordon underwent a charity head shave for the Air Ambulance at the delivery office, along with his 11-year-old daughter Lillia, who also had a haircut.
