Hospital inspires heart man to join run for funds

John Wilkinson, 47, of Chesterfield, collapsed in April last year.

He was rushed to casualty at Chesterfield Royal Hospital before being transferred to the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield where he underwent surgery within 45 minutes.

Mr Wilkinson said: “I don’t remember much about it.

“It was all a blur and all I remember is waking up at the Royal on Manvers ward in the coronary care unit.

“It completely floored me and I had no confidence whatsoever. When I went home I struggled to venture out of the front door. If I went for a walk and I couldn’t see my car then I panicked because I would wonder how the paramedics would find me if I had another attack.”

He said was the intervention of the hospital’s cardiac rehabilitation nurses that helped turn his life around with a programme of exercise and confidence building to help get his life back.

“I owe them everything,” he said. “At first I was dubious and wanted nothing to do with it but the way they spoke to me, they made me feel that I could do anything and that’s why I’m doing this for them.”

He has returned to work, is an enthusiastic cyclist and takes regular walks in the Derbyshire countryside

Now he has enrolled with the support of his wife Helen to run in next month’s Robin Hood Half Marathon in Nottingham aiming to raise £10,000 with all proceeds going to the cardiac rehab nurses team.

He added: “I’ve always been quite fit, had a healthy diet, I’d given up smoking two years previous and don’t drink excessively but my heart problem was genetic. There was absolutely nothing I could have done to prevent this from happening.

“My rehab course was eight weeks and it was as much about mental toughness and getting me in the right frame of mind as it was about physical ability.

“We are raising money for them so that anyone in Chesterfield who suffers a heart attack will get the same type of treatment and aftercare as I’ve had.

“It really has been the difference between me staying at home and being able to put my life back together and I can’t say how grateful I am to those nurses to getting me back on track and the continued support towards my wife Helen during this difficult time.”

Nurse practitioner Nicola Holmshaw said: “We’re delighted to see John running again and the work he put into the programme has been repaid with what he’s able to do now. We’re just pleased that he’s taken all of our advice on board but for him to do what he’s doing to raise money for us is just amazing.”