Steven Clark is still trying piece together the events of his “catastrophic” cardiac arrest in August 2020 which left the 62-year-old requiring 29 minutes of CPR, a defibrillator being used three times, and Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) being called to airlift him.
It started as a fairly normal Saturday for Steven; working in the morning with plans to cycle from his home in Kincardine to meet his wife, Mary, at their caravan in Pitlochry – a distance of around 70 miles.
“My only memory of this day now,” Steven recalls, “is prompted by a photo I took of myself having a coffee in Dunkeld approximately 15 miles from my destination – as we now know I didn’t make it.
“With around a mile to go, it seems I suffered a catastrophic cardiac arrest crashing off my bike onto the roadside in a crumpled heap.”
The avid cyclist fell unconscious, and as a result of the accident, has lost all memory two weeks prior to the incident.
His wife and bystanders on the scene have helped Steven to paint a clearer picture of what happened that summer’s day.
First to come to Steven’s rescue was a local vet who either witnessed him fall or found him lying unconscious by the roadside.
“She [the vet] started doing CPR immediately,” he explains. “Shortly afterwards, a van stopped to help, containing two trained paramedics and a nurse on holiday from London – someone was definitely looking out for me.”
CPR was continued on Steven for the next 29 minutes whilst the emergency services were called and dispatched.
A local land ambulance arrived followed soon thereafter by SCAA, who were able to land adjacent to the A9 near Pitlochry.
The SCAA crew were able to assist alongside the other health professionals on the scene. Steven was later informed that it was at this point a defibrillator was used twice, and it was used once again later in Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
Meanwhile, growing increasingly concerned over Steven’s nonappearance, his wife Mary rushed to his side after the police advised her of the situation.
SCAA airlifted Steven who was transferred to the cardiology department in Ninewells.
“I was rushed in to have an emergency procedure to insert a stent in my main artery which had been blocked by plaque stopping the flow of blood to my heart,” he reflects.
“I was then put in an induced coma for the next two days whilst in recovery. I’m grateful to the SCAA crew who met my wife when she arrived at the hospital to update her on my condition.
“Fortunately, everything went well and just over a week after the accident I was allowed to leave the hospital and recuperate at home for the next few months. I was extremely fortunate to have only sustained a very large scar on my knee and minor memory loss due to the incident – how lucky is that!”
Almost four years later, Steven is leading a normal life and has even jumped back in the saddle to complete more long-distance cycles with Mary, including the same route he did the day of his accident. Recently, he dropped by our Perth base and met one of the SCAA paramedics who attended to Steven on the day of his incident – allowing him the opportunity to fill in some of the blanks from the day of his accident.
Steven comments: “I cannot thank all the people enough who were involved in helping me at that time, and clearly without the aid of SCAA getting me to hospital quickly and the fast reaction of passersby, I would not be here to retell my story.”
