Life-savers thanked for keeping dad alive

A father-of-two has thanked the heroes at a sports centre who brought him back to life after he suffered a heart attack.
Kevin McKay, centre, with life-savers Mikey Christie and Ruth Prophet. Picture: Craig HalkettKevin McKay, centre, with life-savers Mikey Christie and Ruth Prophet. Picture: Craig Halkett
Kevin McKay, centre, with life-savers Mikey Christie and Ruth Prophet. Picture: Craig Halkett

Ruth Prophet and Mikey Christie, were on shift in the night Kevin McKay collapsed with a cardiac arrest after a game of five-a-sides at Bo’ness Recreation Centre on Monday, March 13.

Kevin – who has a daughter Alexandra (11) and son Jayden (6)with wife Moira who were both at the centre with their dad that night – fell to the ground complaining of being dizzy. When Mikey reached him he was conscious and talking, but he quickly became unconsciousness forcing Mikey had to start CPR.

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Ruth also realised the urgency of the situation and grabbed a defibrillator and gave him the shocks he needed to kickstart his heart again.

The young attendants, who are both 25, train regularly for such emergencies as part of their jobs at the centre and it was their training and calmness under pressure that proved vital in saving Kevin’s life.

Mikey, from Linlithgow, said: “I got a call to say someone felt faint on the astroturf and saw Kevin on the ground. He said he was just dizzy and would be fine, but I decided to stay with him. Ruth then came down and that’s when he became unconscious so we just went into the routine of CPR and Ruth got the defibrillator and we then had to cur off his top and strap it to him.

“We gave him a shot which didn’t work so we had to give him another one after more CPR and he came round.”

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Ruth, from Larbert, said: “I think we were already dealing with it before we realised how serious it was. A normal first aid call is usually for an ice pack for a fall or something but this was much more serious. You take for granted the defibrillator is there until something like this happens.

“Our training is quite intensive and we do a lot. When I think back, we didn’t really have to think about it, we just went through all the steps naturally.”

Grateful Kevin was back at the centre this week to give Ruth flowers and Mikey some beer to thank them for saving his life.

He said: “I remember telling them I was tired and I told Mikey not to give me CPR again. I was kind of pushing him away to start with. I’m so glad he persisted with me.

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“I don’t think I had any of the traditional pains you get with a heart attack, I just felt like I wanted to go to sleep. I can’t thank Mikey and Ruth enough for what they did for me. I was very lucky I was in the right place at the right time.”

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