A grandfather's swift actions on the hard shoulder of the M56 motorway brought his wife back to life after she suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a journey home from a family celebration.
Emergency Stop and Lifesaving CPR
Paul Cutler, a 64-year-old former mayor and current councillor from Dartford, was driving with his wife Suzanne, 57, and their daughter Annie, 20, when he noticed Suzanne had become lifeless in the passenger seat. The family were returning to Dartford after attending their grandson's third birthday party on the Wirral, covering a distance of over 200 miles.
Reacting immediately, Paul made an emergency stop on the M56 just outside Manchester. He dragged Suzanne from the car onto a grass verge and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), while Annie called 999 for an ambulance.
Paramedics and Roadside Resuscitation
Paramedics arrived promptly and took over the CPR efforts, using a defibrillator on the roadside to resuscitate Suzanne. Paul recalled the tense moment, stating, "On the third attempt, I heard somebody say 'we have a pulse'." An air ambulance landed nearby, and Suzanne was blue-lighted to Wythenshaw Hospital in Greater Manchester, which houses a specialist heart unit.
Annie accompanied her mother in the ambulance, with Paul following in a support vehicle. Suzanne was rushed to the resuscitation room, transferred to the intensive care unit, and placed in an induced coma to stabilise her condition.
Recovery and Hospital Stay
Suzanne, a mother-of-four and grandmother, stabilised overnight, and after encouraging test results, medics slowly woke her from the coma. There were concerns about potential brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, but she showed positive signs of recovery.
After spending 25 days in hospital, Suzanne was discharged a week before Christmas. Paul stayed with their daughter in the Wirral during this period, using the time to research cardiac arrest statistics. He emphasised, "Every minute makes a massive difference as the chances of survival fall to the floor. We were so close to losing her."
Medical History and Side Effects
This was not Suzanne's first health scare. Five years ago, she underwent successful breast cancer surgery and received targeted therapy medication. A rare side effect of this treatment impacted her heart, leading to a hospitalisation with pneumonia in 2021. She took five months off from her job at an accountancy firm to recover and had faced no further issues until the cardiac arrest in December.
Advocacy for CPR and Defibrillators
Inspired by the experience, Paul is now committed to raising awareness about the importance of CPR and the availability of defibrillators in schools and colleges. He has contacted former colleagues to launch an awareness campaign, highlighting that an estimated 270 children die annually in the UK from sudden cardiac arrest.
Paul, who previously worked in corporate sales and taught part-time at Leigh UTC before retiring, stressed, "I want to get the ball rolling and reach out to as many people as possible." He advocates for every school to have a defibrillator on site to improve survival rates.
Life After the Incident
Suzanne has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) to monitor her heart rhythm and prevent future cardiac arrests. She is unable to drive for six months, and the couple are focusing on gentle exercises like walking while relaxing at home.
Paul humorously noted a sign of her recovery, saying, "When she moaned to the nurse that her ribs were aching because of the cracked ribs I had given her while doing CPR, I knew she was on the mend." The couple have four children and two grandchildren, and Paul continues his public service on the Stone Parish Council.
