Saturday 9th July started out as a normal, beautiful and bright day for Shirley and her fiancé Pete. However, at around 6.30pm, that changed, and it became the most unimaginably tragic day of their lives. Shirley bravely shares what happened and writes this story in Pete’s memory.

A Beautiful Day That Changed in an Instant

Pete was a very fit, healthy 58-year-old who suffered a completely unexpected cardiac arrest at home. Alone and with nobody else around, absolutely nothing can prepare you for this and it will forever play over in my mind. Desperately trying so hard with CPR to save Pete’s life, while waiting and pleading – the feeling of utter hopelessness and despair, while the person you love the most in the world is not breathing and fighting for his life.

The Air Ambulance Response

When Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance arrived, they succeeded in restarting Pete’s heart, but a long time had passed. He was taken to hospital, where they did everything they could for him, but Pete was extremely unwell. Throughout the six days in hospital, I never gave up hope and kept telling him over and over how much I loved him, begging him to wake up again. Very tragically, despite the DSAA team and the hospital’s best efforts, this did not happen. Pete passed away peacefully in my arms at 3.20pm on 14th July.

Support Through the Darkest Days

I was fortunate to have contact and support from some of the special team at DSAA. Jo, one of the charity’s patient and family liaison nurses, is someone I would personally like to thank. She was there for me during some of those very, very dark days, caring, patient and an extremely good listener. I felt able to discuss all my worries and concerns with her and believe me there were many; it couldn’t have been easy for her. I felt she understood, never judged me and empathised with what I was going through. To know there is someone like Jo available if needed can sometimes help a little. Thank you, Jo.

Kindness Beyond the Call of Duty

The clinical team at DSAA are very skilled professionals who save many lives, but they themselves are also human beings. Their kindness and compassion shone through on that day. Dr Ian went far above what I would have expected after Pete’s tragic death. I had long telephone calls with him on two separate occasions. He gave up his own time to tell me what they had done for Pete and said how he’d had high hopes for him on that fateful day. As well as asking me to talk him through what happened, he was also interested to know about Pete as a person. This meant so much to me and made me believe that to him, Pete wasn’t just another ‘cardiac arrest’ he had attended. He really did care. Thank you for that, Ian.

Remembering Pete

I feel I painted an honest picture of Pete for Ian. Pete had so many qualities, he was a good man, loving and kind, loyal, funny, loud and proud, an amazing grandad to his three grandchildren and a man who really would do anything for anyone. These qualities and many more are what made Pete so very, very special.

I didn’t know if Pete would leave our home alive, but because of the team from DSAA he did. We will continue to support them and be forever grateful to them for giving Pete a chance and for giving me hope and the chance to be with him, to comfort him, to hold him, and spend those last very precious days by his side. 

Pete was and always will be the love of my life, my soulmate, my best friend. The world really was a better place with Pete in it. He will be forever loved and is sorely missed by myself, our family and friends and everyone who knew him. There are no words to describe the empty void we all feel without him. Thank you DSAA for your professionalism, your kindness and your compassion.

Next: Craig's Story