Shropshire Star

Telford factory first-aiders who saved colleague's life are honoured

A Shropshire factory worker has paid tribute to the colleagues who saved his life after he suffered a cardiac arrest at work.

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Richard Appleby was on his break when he collapsed in the men's toilets at the Ricoh plant in Telford.

The 26-year-old's heart stopped beating in January, but company first-aiders Sean Partridge, Tania Willoughby and Sonia Chander kept him alive by performing cardio-pulmonary resuscitation while they waited for the air ambulance to arrive.

The three were yesterday presented with glass goblets by company director Tim Webber in recognition of their heroics. Richard was flown to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton, where he remained for three weeks before being allowed to return to his home in Park Lane, Shifnal.

"If it wasn't for them I wouldn't be here now," he said.

He added that he was overcome with emotion when he returned to the factory with his girlfriend Lucy Moseley to meet the three who saved his life.

"I said there were no words I could say which would express how grateful I was to them," he said. "I was kept in an induced coma for five days, and I had to learn to walk again.

"They were quite shocked at how quickly I recovered at the hospital. There was five to 10 minutes 'down time' as they call it, which can lead to the brain being starved of oxygen, and they were worried about things like memory loss or brain damage, but thankfully I have avoided all that."

Another worker, Matthew Parlor, also assisted, and he too was recognised at the ceremony.

Mr Webber said:

"We are extremely proud of what they have done."

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