Wife of Cambridgeshire cardiac arrest survivor thanks Magpas Air Ambulance for saving his life

A cardiac arrest survivor whose life was saved by air ambulance medics has called for more people to support the service – so more lives can be saved.

In spring 2021, Rob Skoulding from March suffered a cardiac arrest.

Rob and his wife Laura had had a busy morning in their hometown and were spending lunch at the garden centre when he suddenly felt like he had severe heartburn. Laura walked Rob back to the car, and that’s the last thing he remembers of that day.

Laura recalls, “I will never forget the 4th of March 2021, it was the scariest day of my life. I saw my husband and best friend literally dying before my eyes.

“Rob became unresponsive within minutes of getting in the car—he’d gone into cardiac arrest. It was then, suddenly things became very scary.

“I knew I had to act quickly if I had any chance of saving him. Luckily, I had been taught how to do CPR, and with the help of two bystanders we got Rob out of the car and began chest compressions straight away. I was so relieved when I heard the emergency services’ sirens and saw the Magpas Air Ambulance helicopter landing.”

Magpas Air Ambulance Doctor Scott and Critical Care Paramedic Alex provided Rob with medication and procedures that are usually only available in a hospital emergency department. This stabilised him before the Magpas Air Ambulance team were able to take him to Kettering Hospital, which has a specialist coronary intervention unit.

Laura said: “The Magpas Air Ambulance team were amazing. I was able to travel with Rob to hospital and they kept me informed with everything that was happening throughout the journey—I was so grateful to them for that.

“Rob was then rushed into the operating theatre where it turned out that his coronary artery was completely blocked, and he had suffered a heart attack. He was very fortunate to get all this specialist care so quickly, and I would sincerely like to thank everyone that helped me keep my best friend alive. Without Magpas Air Ambulance, Rob’s outcome may not have been so positive. He is a very lucky man, and I am a very lucky woman.”

Since recovering from his incident, Rob has been doing what he can to give back to Magpas Air Ambulance — and he’s encouraging others to do the same.

The charity has launched a fundraising raffle, giving people the chance to raise cash, and win £3,000.

Ron said: “Thanks to Magpas Air Ambulance, I can look forward to what should be a fantastic summer. And you could too if you enter their raffle to win £3,000!

“Laura and I wanted to share our story so that you can see the difference you can make and to ask you, if you can, to play the Magpas Air Ambulance summer raffle this year. Tickets are only £1, and you could be in with a chance of winning £3,000 whilst being there for the next family who needs help.”

You can enter the raffle online at https://raffle.magpas.org.uk/ – tickets are on sale until Wednesday, June 28.