"Great care by critical Care Unit - They saved my life!"

One night in February at around midnight I was found in bed virtually dead. My husband  realised something was seriously wrong and as well as phoning 999 he started administering CPR. The 999 crew on the phone offered excellent advice on doing this. After around 15 minutes paramedics and an ambulance crew arrived and took over. I believe they got my heart going again after a further 15 minutes and took me to Portsmouth QA hospital.

I was assessed by the cardiology team who found I had a blockage in the main artery to the heart. They operated immediately and fitted a stent. I was then taken to CCU.

My mind is a complete blank of the entire time in CCU but from what my friends and family have told me the level of care I received was exceptional. During the early days I had a number of further heart attacks which they had to contend with. My lungs were filling with the contents of my stomach and I developed pneumonia as well as MMSA. There were a couple of occasions when the consultant took my husband to one side to explain there was little else they could do.

Then one of the cardiology team suggested I be injected with something direct to the heart to help stabilise it. This they did and it seemed to do the trick. I then proceeded to recover.

The entire CCU team were kind and considerate to my husband and to friends and relatives who came to visit. They realised what an emotional rollercoaster he was on and were superb. They even offered him accommodation near the hospital free of charges, so that he could easily get in to see me.