Keeping hearts beating

On 30 August 2023, Postie Graeme Jerdan from Northumberland collapsed unexpectedly at home while chatting with his wife, Debra. Without hesitation, trained first aid instructor, Debra, called 999, then moved him on to the floor and began chest compressions and continued for around eight minutes until Graeme gasped, just as the paramedics arrived. Graeme was airlifted to the hospital, where he suffered a second cardiac arrest on the flight but thankfully, he woke up the following morning.

Debra is now on a mission to train others in the life-saving skill. After the incident, Debra, a trained first aid instructor, became passionate about sharing her knowledge and has since trained over 150 people in CPR using the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF) RevivR programme. She’s travelled across Berwick and Borders, urging people to complete the free, 15-minute CPR training, especially during Heart Month in February.

“I know how very close we came to losing Graeme. There’s only one reason he’s alive and that’s because of CPR. Knowing that CPR saved my husband’s life, I had to get out there and help others learn this very simple skill.”

Debra and Graeme’s story highlights the critical importance of CPR and defibrillation in saving lives and they’ve been out and about, and on the tv spreading the word! Graeme, who now has an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) to regulate his heart rhythm, has returned to his job as a postman and is supporting our efforts to get 100,000 colleagues trained in CPR.

Click here to get trained this Heart Month.