Friends for life

A woman who suffered a heart attack has praised the paramedic who cared for her when she was taken ill back in August this year.

Paramedic Paul Massey, who responds in a fast response car in Luton Town, was called to a report of a 61 year old woman having central chest pains. On his arrival, he was confronted with a seriously ill patient, Kay Buckner.

Paul said: "I was greeted at the house by Kay's son Richard who led me to his mother who was in bed. She looked very ill and she had all the signs and symptoms of having a heart attack. I was joined quickly by my colleagues Hailey Ryan and Julie Wilson, and following assessments it was agreed to convey her direct to the PPCI department at Harefield hospital."

Paul accompanied Kay in the ambulance to Harefield from the scene and she deteriorated on route. From the time of the emergency call was received and arriving at the PPCI unit was just over one hour. After four days, Kay was discharged back home and is now made an excellent recovery.

Kay was desperate to track down Paul, so she made contact with Luton ambulance depot to try and see if she could meet up with Paul to personally thank him, and her search came true. Last week, communications manager Gary Sanderson arranged for Paul to meet up with Kay and see how she was getting on. An emotional Kay said: "As long as I live I will never ever forget Paul, I owe him my life. The treatment I received by Paul and his colleagues Hailey and Julie was first class."

A humble and proud Paul said: "It was lovely to see Kay and bearing in mind the last time we met I thought she was going to arrest on route to the hospital. A big thank you to Hailey and Julie, it was an excellent team effort with a very successful outcome."