Peter: I went to the job centre at Kingston upon Thames Guildhall to see about having a stall at the jobs fair which was coming up as the domiciliary care company I was working for was looking to recruit returning carers.
I was about to leave when I saw a crowd of people and I thought maybe there was an argument because they had security there. Then I heard someone shouting, “Where’s the first aider, we need a defibrillator!”
A lady had collapsed in the toilet. She’d hit her head and wasn’t breathing. I produced my St John ID badge and went straight in. A member of the security team was doing CPR, but they were happy to step back and let me take over.
The woman’s daughter was there crying because her mum was lying there dead, and the granddaughter was in a pushchair screaming.
I did a quick DRABC (Danger, Response, Airway, Breathing and Circulation) check but there was no output at all. I started CPR and was shouting for a defibrillator. Two defibrillators were brought within a couple of minutes. I lifted the lady’s top up and she had a bra on which I needed to cut through so I could stick the defibrillator pads on her. Normally I carry scissors with me, but I didn’t have any that day, so I shouted for someone to bring me a pair. I cut straight up through the middle of her bra. The defibrillator analysed her heart rhythm but indicated no shock advised so I continued with the chest compressions.
She started showing signs of life, so we got her in the recovery position. I asked the daughter about her mum’s medical history, and she told me she was asthmatic. Her eyes started to roll back, and she went into cardiac arrest again, so we had to get her on her back again and I started a second round of CPR.
Thankfully the Met Police, who have a base right next door, turned up and they brought a third defibrillator with them. By this time, we’d brought the lady back and then the London Ambulance Service turned up.
There was a police officer wearing a stab vest and he kept asking me if I was OK. He said to me: “You cut that lady’s bra off – are you OK with that?”
I told him I didn’t have a choice. I either cut the bra off to get the defibrillator pads on her or I don’t cut it off and she’s going to be leaving here in a very different situation. You can’t hang around waiting for someone else to decide whether or not they feel comfortable about that. If you hesitate, it can be a whole different outcome.
The main thing for me was that Jo survived.
In that situation, you don't see a man or a woman. You don’t think about gender. You just see a human body and if there’s no piece of paper saying do not resuscitate, you should try if safe to do so. I had a dead body in front of me, so I did what I’ve been trained to do.
I’ve been brought up in a very traditional way to treat women with the utmost respect. But when a woman collapses in front of you and you need to remove her shirt and cut her bra off to save her life, you just have to put any embarrassment aside it may cause and save a life.
I can wholeheartedly say I was glad I was there that day. Jo may have survived anyway but with just a little bit of delay and with all the confusion going on things might have been different. I think it just needed someone to take charge.
Jo: I am truly so grateful that Peter had the courage to do what needed to be done on that day regardless of gender.
There should be no gender when it comes to life-or-death situations and now instead of my children and grandchildren remembering the 22/10/2024 as the day I died, they get to remember it as the day I survived because the right person at the right time didn't see a woman he shouldn't touch, but a person who was dying and needed his help.
So it is with every breath I take and every beat of my heart that I will always owe my life to Peter a man who saved a woman and became my hero.
