AN Altrincham man is thanking his lucky stars after surviving a cardiac arrest during a tennis game with his partner – and is using his second chance in life to help others.

Back in January, couple Ian Welsh, 45, and Connie Bird, 40, nipped out to nearby John Leigh Park for a quick game on the courts when disaster struck.

“It was a gentle game, nothing too strenuous,” said Connie.

“Ian was feeling perfectly fine but when we had been playing for about 15 minutes, he suddenly collapsed, no warning whatsoever.

“At first I thought he was playing around but once I saw his face, I knew there was something seriously wrong.”

Ian was unresponsive within seconds and, alone in the park, Connie was terrified. She dialled 999 and the call handler helped her establish Ian had had a cardiac arrest. She asked if Connie was near a defibrillator but there were none in the area.

She resorted to CPR, which she had learned at school, and within eight minutes, paramedics arrived.

They had to work on Ian for around one hour before his heart started beating by itself and he was rushed to Wythenshawe hospital, where he was put into an induced coma.

Connie was told Ian had a 50:50 per cent chance of survival but Ian pulled through.

“He’s now walking around with his own defibrillator in his chest, broken ribs are healed, his memory is back and you wouldn’t know there was anything wrong with him,” said Connie.

“But the real issue is we didn’t know there was anything wrong before. His undiagnosed heart condition meant he was a real life ticking timebomb.”

This frightening experience prompted Connie and Ian to join up with Friends of John Leigh Park to raise funds for an onsite solar power defibrillator. Until they reach their target, Ian Lilley, inventor of ‘Superbin Solar-defib’, along with his partners Cardiac Science and Defib Store, have kindly offered to loan one to the park.

Connie said: “What happened to Ian could have happened to anyone, anywhere. We were lucky. I sincerely hope it never happens again in our lovely park, it has seen enough drama, but if it does, we’ve done all we can to help that poor soul’s chance of survival.

“Too many people die too young of Sudden Cardiac Arrest – let’s keep hold of as many of our loved ones as we can.”

To make a donation, visit justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Defib-in-the-park or write a cheque to Friends of John Leigh and send in an envelope marked ‘defib’ to Jim Leslie, Treasurer FOJLP, 33 Oldfield Road, Altrincham, WA14 4EQ.