Local man thanks Great North Air Ambulance Service for 'saving his life'

A local man who suffered a cardiac arrest has thanked the Great North Air Ambulance Service for 'saving his life.'

54-year-old Paul Chappell - who lives in St John's - thought he was suffering from indigestion after chest pains came on suddenly whilst at work last month.

Paul says he woke up that morning 'feeling 100%', however soon after started to feel pressure in the centre of his chest.

After making the decision to head up to Noble's, Mr Chappell was immediately taken to a resus area - and told he was having a heart attack.

He described himself as being 'completely shocked' as day-to-day he considered himself 'fairly fit and healthy.'

He was given morphine and says that's when he began to panic - he tried to stand up to leave hospital, but blacked out and went into cardiac arrest.

Speaking about the moment he says 'I was fine at 9am and by 9.30am I was dead.'

The team at Nobles Hospital gave Mr Chappell one shock from the defibrillator and he was brought back to life.

The decision was made to transfer Paul to the Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital via helicopter by the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

He says 'Due to the shock, all the blood vessels in my eyes had burst and my eyes were blood red and tongue was black where I had bit down on it.'

The Pride of Cumbria II helicopter came to collect Paul that afternoon.

In 2021, the Great North Air Ambulance Service launched their direct transfer service of patients from the Isle of Man to trauma or other specialist centres in the North West, so they can receive off-Island treatment in the shortest time possible.

Mr Chappell said: 'The GNAAS team was excellent. They kept putting their thumbs up to make sure I was feeling ok and kept me calm then lifted me slightly so I could see out of the window.

“I don’t like helicopters, but I felt safe with the crew that day – they are brilliant.

“In hindsight, by the time I woke up the following day it was like it never happened and if I hadn’t of taken myself to hospital that morning, I would have been dead.”

He added: “GNAAS was a gold star service. I had a heart attack at 9am on the Thursday and by 4pm the same day I was in Liverpool and having surgery, it’s just phenomenal. Thanks for saving my life.”

Although the GNAAS does receive funding from the Isle of Man government, it's still dependent on donations to survive. To donate or find out more about the charity visit www.gnaas.com