Carers who saved collapsed man hailed as heroes

Two carers have been hailed as heroes after they brought a man back to life when he collapsed on the floor.

Carl Lloyd and Sarah Swainston tirelessly worked for 10 minutes doing CPR on a 25-year-old who had fallen, slumped on the floor, unresponsive and not breathing, at a day centre run by Middlesbrough Council.

Paramedics took over and, after a week in hospital, he was fit enough to return to the Sandringham House centre, which supports people with autism and learning difficulties.

He is now being treated for suspected epilepsy.

My training just kicked in, I’ve been on lots of first aid courses and it gets drummed into you so I knew what I needed to do.

Carl Lloyd

Mr Lloyd, 35, said: “He was just on the floor when I came into the room – I could tell straight away he wasn’t right. He was just lifeless. He looked grey, he wasn’t breathing.

“My training just kicked in, I’ve been on lots of first aid courses and it gets drummed into you so I knew what I needed to do.

“Once I started CPR, the adrenaline kicked in. It was about 10 minutes, but time just stretches – it felt like an hour.”

It felt like we were saving one of our own. I just knew that I wasn’t going to make that phone call to his mam. We knew we had to keep going.

Sarah Swainston

Ms Swainston, 43, said the man had never been known to have a seizure before.

She said: “A lot of our service users have been with us a long time, we do form strong bonds with them, they’re like family.

“It felt like we were saving one of our own.

“I just knew that I wasn’t going to make that phone call to his mam.

“We knew we had to keep going.

“It feels amazing that he’s back here now and he’s in his routine again, but we were just doing our job really.”

Margaret Evans, unit manager at Sandringham, was full of praise for the pair.

“I’m so incredibly proud of both of them, Carl and Sarah are typical of the amazing staff who work in our service,” she said.

“They’ll probably tell you they were just doing their job – but they’re heroes.”