A forklift truck driver who suffered an electrical storm in his heart has been talking about his miraculous escape from death. He paid tribute to the efforts of the volunteer lifesavers and ambulance emergency crews who saved him.
When Mr. Walker, 59, collapsed at work it was only the quick-thinking of volunteer lifesavers that saved him.
A delighted Mr. Walker, whose wife used to work for the Welsh Ambulance Service in Swansea, is now back at home in Pontyates, near Llanelli, following his brush with death.
He said: "I don't remember anything about it. I just remember waking up in hospital.
"If it had happened a few minutes earlier I'd have been driving and could have gone through the hedge and into the lake, and 10 minutes later and I'd have been on a five-ton forklift.
He added: "The specialist told me I'd had an electrical storm in my heart and people don't survive that usually.”He said 90 out of 100 people would have died, and eight of the 10 who lived would have brain damage, so I know how lucky I am."
The grandfather of four had gone to work at the Calsonic Kansei factory in Llanelli at 6.30am but moments after having a cup of tea in the canteen he collapsed.
By chance a senior supervisor and co- ordinator for the Welsh Ambulance Service first responder group in Llanelli had come into work early that day. He said: "I had only come in to cover for some colleagues. It was only five minutes for the ambulance but it felt like a lifetime and we kept the CPR going on him as the crews got to work."
An ambulance paramedic said the patient was in a very bad way when they arrived at the factory. He said: "It just shows that first aid training is key to basic survival, especially in places like factories, if you have colleagues on hand who have had that training."
