Woman saves friend’s life after spotting heart attack during video call

Adam Dutton and Mary Stenson

A quick-thinking woman saved her friend’s life after spotting he was having a heart attack during a video call.

Shannon Jeffries, 61, was about to head out for her regular golf game with pal Darren Oliver, 60, when he rang to say he felt too unwell to play.

But as they chatted, Darren – who was sat in his car outside his home in Kidderminster, Worcs., – began to stutter and then passed out.

Shannon said: “I knew immediately I saw his face on the screen that something was very wrong as he looked so gray.

“He got the words out and then started stuttering and dropped the phone.”

With no time to lose, Shannon rang Bewdley Pines Golf Club, where staff gave her Darren’s address.

She raced to the scene and found him slumped over the steering wheel.

She said: “I rang the ambulance straight away and the operator told me to drag him out of the car onto the floor and to clear his airways.

“At the time, Darren weighed more than 20 stone and I couldn’t move him.

“He was still breathing, so I managed to push his seat back and tilt his head back.”

Shannon then accessed Darren’s phone to call his mom and tell her the grim news.

Paramedics dashed to the scene but as Darren was driven to the hospital, he suffered a heart attack in the ambulance.

Doctors warned Shannon and Darren’s mom to prepare for the worst.

Shannon said: “I knew from our conversations that he was close to his mom. I needed to let her know how serious it was.

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“I got his phone and put it up to his face so that it would open through facial recognition.

“I found her number and called her to tell her to meet us at Worcester Royal Hospital.

“Darren went in the ambulance and had a cardiac arrest on the way, but was resuscitated by the paramedics.

“When I arrived, I met his mom for the first time. She looked so worried and obviously very frightened.

“We were both shown into the relatives’ room and told that Darren had suffered another two cardiac arrests, and that we should go and say our goodbyes before they put him in an induced coma, as they didn’t think he would make it.

“It was so upsetting, and my heart went out to his mom. I have a son of my own and it’s an unimaginable situation.

“Darren was surrounded by about ten medics and lots of machines.

“To watch this lovely lady say goodbye to her son was awful.

“It sounds daft now, but I pulled a golf ball out of my bag and put it in his hand and told him to hang on. He was squeezing it.”

The retired chef underwent emergency surgery to fit two stents in his arteries that had become blocked.

He was treated in intensive care for nine days and remained in hospital for a further eight days.

Since his heart attack in February, Darren has lost a whopping eight stone and is back playing golf with Shannon every week.

He said: “I’m so grateful to Shannon as it’s terrible to think what might have been if she hadn’t got to me.

“I’ve still got Shannon’s golf ball. It’s a Titleist, so she’s not having it back. I carry it in my bag as a reminder always.”

The pair have since raised more than $1,600 for the British Heart Foundation with a grueling 36-hole golf challenge.