Rugby coach saved player"s life following on-pitch heart attack

A veteran rugby player who collapsed on the pitch with a heart attack during a charity match was saved when a quick-thinking coach came to his aid.

Martin Burnell, 51, fell to the ground during the first-half of the charity match at Kenfig Hill RFC late last year and immediately stopped breathing.

Coach Clive Jenkins, 58, was stood on the sidelines when he saw Martin collapse onto the turf.

The trained first-aider at the club, who are nicknamed The Mules, sprinted onto the pitch to help.

Despite more commonly being called upon to treat sprains, fractures and concussions, Clive quickly realised what was wrong.

“I ran onto the pitch and quickly realised that Martin wasn’t breathing,” said Clive, who was trained in first aid by St John Wales.

“I opened his airway by tilting his head back, as I’d been shown in my first aid course, but when he didn’t start breathing again, I immediately began CPR.

“Another member of the coaching team called the ambulance and I continued the chest compressions until the paramedics arrived and they could shock Martin with a defibrillator.

“It took three shocks of the defibrillator to get his heart going again.”

Martin was rushed to the Princess of Wales hospital in Bridgend where he spent a week before being transferred to Morriston Hospital in Swansea where he was fitted with an artificial pacemaker. He has now made a full recovery.

A relieved Martin said: “I had felt fine all day but began to feel quite unwell as the game went on. The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital four hours later.

“The team told me that Clive saved my life and I was so grateful to him. I’m fairly fit and healthy so I never thought I’d be at risk of cardiac arrest. It just shows how important it is to have first-aid training.”

Clive admitted that it was poignant meeting up with Martin after he got out of hospital.

“I have known Martin for years through the rugby club,” he said.

“When he collapsed I just went into my first-aid mode and just got on with it.

“It hit me afterwards and meeting up with him was very emotional. It is great that he has made such a fantastic recovery.

“Normally, I just deal with soft tissue injuries and this is the first time I have every had to resuscitate anyone on the rugby pitch.”

Clive is now urging people to learn first-aid.

“Since Martin’s collapse the club has bought an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) so we are prepared if anything like this was to happen again,” he said.

Research shows that, in Wales, around 20,000 people attend AE every year because they are injured playing sport.

Statistics from the Wales Rugby Union (WRU) show that the most common injuries while playing rugby are head and face injuries, including concussion.

St John Wales has created a Rugby Emergency Aid Course in partnership with the WRU, which has already funded 100 of these courses so far this season, in addition to the provision of first-aid kits and equipment.

But the charity is now encouraging more people to learn these lifesaving skills. Jon Phillips, Director of Training at St John Wales said, “Clive and Martin’s experience shows that knowing what to do in those vital first minutes of an emergency situation could dramatically increase your chance of survival.” For more details see www.stjohnwales.org.uk .

Article source: http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/rugby-league-five-championship-141509579--spt.html

Rugby coach saved player"s life following on-pitch heart attack