Dad 'felt dizzy' on gym treadmill and collapsed as A&E nurse jumped into action

01 October 2023 , 11:41

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Ste O'Grady, who suddenly collapsed in the middle of a gym session, 'owes everything' to off-duty nurse Kayleigh Garcia (Image: Liverpool Echo WS)

A dad owes his life to an A&E nurse who happened to see the moment he collapsed on the treadmill.

Ste O’Grady, 41, was working out at a Total Fitness gym when he suddenly suffered a heart attack and fell to the floor. Luckily Kayleigh Garcia was close by and quickly stepped in to administer CPR to Ste as gym staff rushed to grab a defibrillator. The dad of two recalled feeling dizzy before the initial fall: “I remember being on the treadmill and I felt a bit of dizziness, so I went to turn off the machine.” Shortly after, Ste collapsed and woke up to nurse Kayleigh using the defibrillator. He said he ‘owes everything to her,’ as she saved his life.

Kayleigh with her friend and fellow nurse Jennie Goldie (Liverpool Echo WS)

Ste was then taken to the hospital where an ICD was inserted - a small internal device that uses electrical pulses to regulate abnormal heart rhythms, preventing future cardiac arrests, the reports. On the day of the incident, the dad-of-two had rode to the gym with his two sons and brother. He said: "I was feeling perfectly fine that morning right up until the moment I dropped dead", which is when nurse Kayleigh Garcia rushed over and intervened to help.

Kayleigh, 34, was at the fitness centre watching her daughter’s swimming lessons when she noticed people rushing on the first floor of the gym. She said: “We pulled him off the treadmill and as I turned him over, he stopped breathing.” Another man at the scene gave mouth to mouth whilst Kayleigh did chest compressions. Ste was then shocked by the defibrillator and after multiple rounds of CPR later, he woke up.

The experience has inspired Kayleigh and fellow nurse and friend, Jennie Goldie, to start their own training school to train individuals in first aid for children and adults. She said it's a life skill that everyone should have, and it could help to save a life. She said: "It absolutely shocked me how many people didn't help or didn't know CPR, which is why we have started our own first aid training business."

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