Son is heart attack hero
Published: March 29, 2007
Steven Eades will always have an extra special bond with his son Gavin after the teenager saved his life as he collapsed with a heart attack at their Black Country home.
Steven was minutes from death when 18-year-old Gavin sprang in to action. While his frantic mother Michelle waited for an ambulance Gavin gave his dad resuscitation treatment to re-start his heart, guided over the phone by the 999 operator.
Mr Eades, aged 42, collapsed one afternoon as he walked through the front door of his home in Castlefort Road, Walsall Wood.
Antony Glyptis took the 999 call. He said: “Gavin came on the phone and said his dad had collapsed and he had turned blue, a classic sign that the patient is in cardiac arrest.
“Our training is extensive and tells us exactly what to do but it is never easy because the people at the other end of the phone are understandably usually panicking.
“Gavin was remarkably calm given the situation which meant I could give him advice on what to do and compliment the knowledge he already had.”
Window maker Gavin said: “I remember dialling 999 and remembering to check whether dad was breathing. I did a little first aid at school but never thought that I would have to use it.
“As Antony was talking to me on the phone I was just doing what I was told and not thinking about what was going on.
“The enormity of the situation only hit me when the ambulance guys turned up and took over. I suppose it was a case of being in the right place at the right time.”
Gavin said his parents were treating him “really well at the moment”, letting him get away with things.
His father spent two days in Walsall Manor Hospital following the attack in January before being transferred to the specialist Heart and Lung Centre at Wolverhampton’s New Cross, where he had surgery. He is now recuperating at home.
Mr Eades said: “I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for what my son did for me that day. I am so very proud of Gavin.”
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