A 63-year-old grandmother and her husband of 41 years have spoken of the terrifying moment she went into cardiac arrest.

Nina and Jon Wallace recalled the moment she collapsed at their home in Warsash as they were reunited with the life-saving crews from South Central Ambulance Service and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

Jon, who is 67, performed CPR while he waited for help to arrive following Nina's collapse in February 2023. 

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After 12 gruelling minutes, medics arrived and shocked Nina five times in total, managing to restart her heart with the air ambulance doctor and specialist paramedic also performing a pre-hospital emergency anaesthetic.

Nina had a further two cardiac arrests on the way to hospital and then underwent multiple procedures, including having stents and a defibrillator fitted.  

Jon recalled: "She turned a horrible colour. I'd never seen a colour like it. It was ghastly — a blue-grey kind of colour. Then she suddenly fell backwards onto the toilet floor. 

"They told us they couldn't guarantee what the outcome would be. It’s so scary; you try to prepare yourself for the worst. We were allowed to go in and see her when she was in an ICU bay with tubes everywhere and had a big hole in her neck. It didn’t look good at all."

Nina is continuing her recovery at home but has experienced fatigue and brain fog.

She and Jon met with the air ambulance’s Aftercare Lead Tom Nickisson-Richards who arranged the patient and crew reunion.  

"I didn't know what to expect or how I was going to react, but it felt like putting the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle in," said Nina.  

"Being able to say, ‘thank you – because of what you’ve all done for me, I've been able to meet my youngest grandson, spend time with my beautiful granddaughters, witness my youngest son get married and celebrate our Ruby Wedding Anniversary’. Thank you just doesn't seem enough. But there are no other words.” 

"I never thought it would happen to me. But if it hadn't been for the amazing crews that night, I know I wouldn't be here now. I'm forever grateful."