Liverpool dad 'wouldn't be here' this Christmas if it wasn't for student nurse

A father has been able to take his children to see santa this Christmas, after his life was saved by a student nurse who gave him life-saving CPR.

John McKeown, from Norris Green in Liverpool, went into cardiac arrest while driving on 11 November 2023.

The 37-year-old's car stopped in the middle of the road, and a passer-by began trying to call for help.

Demi Murphy, a 21-year-old student nurse at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital, was driving past when she saw the passer-by calling for help.

She said: “John’s car was in the middle of the road, when I got to him, he wasn’t breathing and was unresponsive.

“I didn’t have time to think about it, I just jumped in the car and started doing CPR while he was in the drivers’ seat, and my friend was on the phone to the ambulance.”

At the same time, John's partner, Vicky Flattery, called to see why he wasn't home. Demi answered the phone and told her what was happening.

Vicky said: “Demi was trying to reassure me, telling me that the ambulance was on the way and asking me all the right questions, trying to find out if John had a pre-existing heart condition.

"John’s dad has a heart condition that’s genetic, but John wasn’t classed as high risk yet."

Luckily, an ambulance arrived within minutes. The paramedics helped Demi get John out of the car.

Demi said: "I continued CPR when John was on the floor, while the paramedics got the defibrillator.

"Once they had a pulse, he was put in the ambulance and taken to hospital while I spoke to the police.”

John was taken to Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, where they discovered that he had suffered a ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest - similar to a heart attack.

He was taken straight into the Intensive Care Unit and put onto life support. During his cardiac arrest he’d been starved of oxygen and had a seizure. The medical team placed him into an induced coma.

Vicky said: “John’s now had surgery to fit an implantable cardiac defibrillator which detects and stops irregular heartbeats.

He’s now at home and doing so well. He doesn’t have any memory of the incident or the few days before it happened, even some things that happened last month are hazy for him, but it could have been so much worse."

Thanks to Demi's life-saving actions, John has been able to spend Christmas with his family.

Vicky said: “John literally wouldn’t be here today without everything Demi did for him.

"I’m not usually one to believe in fate but I was sure we were going to lose him, there was someone looking over us that day.

“We’re just really thankful that Demi was in the right place at the right time and all the other paramedics and hospital teams worked to save John so he could come home to his children and his family.”

The day of his cardiac arrest already held significance for John and Vicky, as it was also the ninth anniversary of their baby boy’s death.

David Melia, Chief Nursing Officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation, said: "Demi should be incredibly proud of herself. Her quick thinking and life-saving actions mean John is here to enjoy Christmas with his family this year. I’ve no doubt that Demi has a long and successful nursing career ahead of her.”

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