A Southport primary school headteacher who said he was “overwhelmed” after seeing the children in his school for the first time after his life was saved following a heart attack last summer.
Nick Sheeran, the headteacher at Birkdale Primary School, suddenly collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest on the last day of term last July.
Luckily for him, a number of defibrillators had been placed within the building following a partnership with the Oliver King Foundation.
Within 32 seconds his colleagues David Jessop, Naomi Williams and Leanne Szabo were putting the life-saving equipment to use in order to successfully save his life.
When paramedics arrived they told staff that Mr Sheeran may have lost his life if they hadn’t acted so fast.
He is the 68th person to be successfully treated with the Foundation’s defibrillators since the charity began.
This morning he made an emotional return to school for the first time since last summer to the delighted cheers of his pupils and staff.
BBC TV cameras were there to record the happy moment.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast today, Birkdale Primary School headteacher Nick Sheeran said: “I was very overwhelmed to be seeing the children for the first time.
“I was homing in on several familiar faces I have not seen for several months.
Nick Sheeran, the headteacher at Birkdale Primary School, returned to school for the first time after suffering a cardiac arrest on the last day of term. Photo by BBC Breakfast
“You start seeing the children and it all kicks in, the reality of how lucky I am to be here and the reasons for me being here.
“I am the luckiest headteacher on the planet really.
“I am so grateful to everyone for the part that they played in saving my life and allowing me to be back in school today for the first time in months and months.
“I am all raring to go. I am much more chilled than I used to be. I am certainly not going to worry too much about things.”
Birkdale Primary School teacher Naomi Williams subsequently set up a campaign in her local area to buy a new defibrillator.
She said: “ On the last day of term my headteacher suffered a cardiac arrest, his condition only had a 2% survival rate.
Nick Sheeran, the headteacher at Birkdale Primary School, returned to school for the first time after suffering a cardiac arrest on the last day of term. Photo by BBC Breakfast
“Luckily the school had a defibrillator right next to the playground. When Mr Sheeran collapsed one of my colleagues raced to get it and within 32 seconds we had it open and in use.
“You never think you’ll need to use one. But luckily we had one available and we were all first aid trained and the training kicked in straight away.
“He was thanking us afterwards and we told him ‘you were the one who trained us’!
“He never imagined the defibrillator would be used for saving his life.
“The First Responder was on the scene really quickly, followed by the paramedics and the ambulance, which took him to Southport Hospital.
“The paramedics came back to debrief us afterwards.
“They said that without the defibrillator, he would be dead.
“With the condition that he had, apparently only 2% of people manage to make it into hospital and survive.
“Having defibrillators available for use within the community is so important.
“We had one in the school thanks to the Mark King Foundation, Mark King came in to see us.
“After that the school did some fundraising and we have six throughout the school now.
“The defibrillator itself was amazing. It is so easy to use. It tells you exactly what to do and how to use it.
“Anybody can use one, which is why they are so important.”
- For more news about the Oliver King Foundation please visit: theoliverkingfoundation.co.uk
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