Cardiac arrest victim saved by defibrillator - The Solihull Observer

Cardiac arrest victim saved by defibrillator

Solihull Editorial 7th Oct, 2015 Updated: 21st Oct, 2016   0

A FAMILY from Solihull is pleading to get more people trained to successfully perform CPR after it helped save a life at the Arden Club mid-way through an ordinary daily workout.

Jon Chard “owes his life” to Rosemary Cribb – a personal trainer – and Geoff Thomas – a regular – after they successfully performed CPR following a cardiac arrest.

Jon’s heart suddenly stopped functioning mid-way through his daily gym session – without such accurate treatment, Jon believes he wouldn’t be alive today.

Following the incident, Jon’s family is now looking to raise awareness about defibrillators and how effective a simple piece of equipment can be.




The Chard family praised the Arden Club for their quick and efficient actions which, ultimately, saved a life.

Jon said: “I owe my life to Rosemary and Geoff’s prompt actions when I collapsed and I will never be able to thank them enough.


“Without a defibrillator being available in the gym I would not have survived – these devices are low cost and fully automated so anyone can use them in an emergency.

“I urge everyone to appreciate the value of defibrillators as I am living proof that they can make the difference between life and death.”

A spokesperson from the Arden Club said: “All of our staff went on a training course in February so they was educated to perform CPR and use defibrillators successfully.

“Jon’s heart stopped for five minutes, in that time he was shocked twice and continued to be treated between shocks – without the actions that were taken by Rosemary and Geoff there would’ve been a high chance Jon wouldn’t have survived.

“We’re continuing to educate members of staff at the club and our gym members – all staff will be doing a refreshers course, members are also invited to take part.”

Currently, over 60,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests take place each year – for every minute that passes without use of a defibrillator, the persons chance of surviving decreases by 10 per cent.

Lifesaver Rosemary Cribb said: “Jon was on the treadmill and I noticed he stopped, it was then that he fell to the ground and I immediately realised what was wrong.

“I didn’t have time to think that I’m dealing with someone’s life here, I was trained and knew what to do and everything ran smoothly.

“Myself and Geoff used the defibrillator whilst other people in the gym at the time called 999.

“The defibrillator was fantastic, it guided us through the steps and stated whether we needed to speed up or what to do – thankfully all staff underwent a training course five months ago.”

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Online Editions

Catch up on your local news by reading our e-editions on the Solihull Observer.

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Solihull Observer newspaper.

Public Notices

View and download all of the public notices in the Solihull Observer.