22 June 2011
A Mill Hill father of two is “the happiest man
in the world” after meeting the ambulance crews who helped save his
life.
And 52-year-old Eli Laban is so impressed with the
care he received from the London Ambulance Service he has decided
to learn how to save lives himself and hopes to join a new
volunteer ambulance scheme.
In January last year, self-employed building contractor Eli,
from Hale Drive, was helping a friend put up a television when an
undiagnosed aneurysm, a weakness in the blood vessel wall that
causes it to bulge outwards like a balloon, burst and he stopped
breathing.
Eli said: “I felt a strange sensation
from the bottom of my spine to the bottom of my neck. I told my
friend to call 999 and that’s all I remember.”
Paramedic Gary Extence and crewmate David
Glenton were first on scene, closely followed by Ruth Stevenson and
Janette Clynes.
“I remember it well,” Gary said. “It was in
the middle of all the snow last year, and Eli was in a very bad way
when we arrived.”
Gary and his colleagues helped Eli start
breathing again and took him on blue lights to Barnet Hospital.
From there he was taken to the Royal Free, where he underwent a
number of operations. He was discharged 3 months later.
Emergency Medical Technician Janette Clynes
said: “I’m surprised at how well Eli looks now. He has had an
amazing recovery.”
Paramedic Ruth Stevenson added: “It is really
nice to see him again. We hardly ever get to see patients in a
normal situation.”
“I’m very chuffed with what they have all done
for me,” Eli said, “I can’t be grateful enough.
“I was determined to find the crew to thank
them for all the hard work they are doing.
“Now all I want is to help other people where
I can.”
Eli will be attending the Hendon Community
Responder open evening on 27 June from 7pm to 9pm at Middlesex
University to find out how he can make a difference in his
community. The event is open to all local residents who want to
volunteer to join this life saving scheme.
Anyone interested in finding our more should contact Marian
Thompson at St John Ambulance on 020 7258 7025, email cfr@london.sja.org.uk, or visit
www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/acr
-ENDS-
Notes to
editors:
We receive numerous 999 emergency calls to people in a
life-threatening condition every day. Each one of these calls could
need basic life-saving skills as quickly as possible to stop them
dying.
We reach most of these patients within eight minutes, but if
someone in the next street had the basic skills and equipment they
could get there in even less time. This would make a big difference
in saving a life.
By volunteering to become an Ambulance Community Responder,
local residents could be responding alongside us to
life-threatening emergency calls in your area. We would give them
the training, equipment and support to start saving lives.
To be eligible volunteers must:
- Be physically fit.
- Work well under pressure.
- Be a good communicator.
- Have held a full driving licence for at least one year.
- Have access to a roadworthy vehicle.
- Undergo a Criminal Records Bureau check.
For more information visit
http://www.londonambulance.nhs.uk/working_for_us/volunteering_with_us.aspx
- For further information about the London Ambulance Service or
this news release and to obtain a high resolution, full size
copy of the picture please contact the communications
department on 020 7783 2286.
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