Man who died urges air ambulance support

A man “who died and was brought back to life” during a cycling festival in the Peak District is urging Derbyshire people to support Air Ambulance Week from September 8 to 16 to raise funds to keep lifesaving helicopters flying across the county.nnThe fundraising initiative is crucial to the continued existence of Derbyshire, Leicestershire & Rutland Air Ambulance (DLRAA) which is a charity and receives no government funding. Each lifesaving mission they fly costs £1,700.nnFormer international basketball player, John Wilson (56) from Sheffield was nearing the end of the Eroica Britannia bike ride – just outside Bakewell – in June 2016 when he collapsed.nn“I stopped at the bottom of a hill, to wait for my wife, when I passed out. Basically I died but due to the speedy actions of medics and the local air ambulance I survived,” he says.nnJohn had gone into cardiac arrest and was given CPR by a consultant anaesthetist who was also taking part in the bike ride. An ambulance arrived shortly after and he was defibrillated. When his heart beat was regulated he was flown by the local air ambulance to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield for urgent medical treatment.n“I am unbelievably thankful to everyone who helped me and the fact I am still alive is down to the air ambulance and the other people,” he says.nAfter being an athlete and fitness fanatic all his life, John – who works as a mechanical engineer – has had to adjust to a different lifestyle after his collapse.nnDuring his two week recovery period in hospital he was fitted with a Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator under his armpit to detect if his heart starts beating irregularly. This would give him a controlled electric shock to “zap” him back to life should there be a problem.nn“I have been competitive all my life and to suddenly be told that I cannot do things like I did before is physiologically hard to deal with. It’s been quite difficult to adapt to not having a competition to focus on but I still have many many great things to look forward to in life,” says John.nnSince his accident he and his wife Gillian have been cycling regularly, including taking part in the Eroica Britannia bike ride this year and in 2017.nn“When you nearly lose your life like I did you see the world with a different pair of goggles on. You see the things that really matter to you and you focus on them.”nn“It was emotional for us both to go back and take part in the ride, which started out as a social event and ended as a nightmare for the whole family, but it is something I feel I wanted to do. It has helped me to close a door and move forward,” says John.nnHe says he “cannot praise the air ambulance crew who came to my rescue enough” and has been to the air base at East Midlands Airport to say thank you in person to them.n“Many people don’t realise the local air ambulance is a charity which receives no government funding. By sharing my story about the part the air ambulance played in saving my life, I hope people will be encouraged to support them,” added John.nTo find out more about Air Ambulance Week log on to: theairambulanceservice.org.uk/give