'CPR from my partner saved my life after cardiac arrest'

Sharon Cooper can't remember the details of what happened to her on the day she almost lost her life.

After waking up one Sunday morning in 2022 feeling nauseous, she attempted to walk across her Halifax apartment to make a sandwich when she collapsed into the arms of her partner, Adam D'arcy.

It was the cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) Adam performed that saved Sharon when her heart stopped and meant he has since been able to fill the gaps in her memory.

"I vaguely recall trying to push open the door, but my eyes rolled back and it was like somebody turned a light off," Sharon told the BBC.

"What happened next was a blur."

"I knew immediately something was wrong," Adam said, describing the moment he lunged to catch Sharon, who was having a cardiac arrest.

When he dialled 999, Adam was told that without CPR, Sharon was not going to survive.

"Looking back now, we were very, very lucky.

"It was the operator talking me through it, I did not have the knowledge or the experience; I had never seen it in public."

To add to the odds that were stacked against them, Adam also has a degenerative eye condition that has left him without any peripheral vision, and Sharon, who was 47 at the time, had been his carer since 2018. He had to perform the life-saving procedure with tunnel vision.

According to the British Heart Foundation, around half the number of people who live with their partners are reluctant to give CPR because they are afraid of causing harm.

Adam said he hoped that by sharing his experience, it will encourage others to educate themselves on the importance of CPR.

"It took a minute and four seconds to get Sharon back breathing," he said.

"Without it there wouldn't have been Sharon sat here now with me today.

"Her kids would not have their mum."

In Yorkshire, around 3,700 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen every year,.

Only 1 in 11 people survive.

Each minute that passes without CPR reduces the chance of survival by up to 10%, according to the British Heart Foundation.

Adam and Sharon believe that knowledge of CPR should be instilled from a young age.

"A lot of people are afraid to do it, because it does cause injury," Sharon said.

"The likelihood is there will be broken ribs - but that has to happen.

"That is a small chance to pay for your life.

"We have young boys and I have had three more years of watching them grow.

"I have had three more Christmases and a party for my 50th birthday.

"It would never have happened if Adam had not sprung into action as quickly as he did.

"We still talk about it and think, did that really happen?

"I would never have imagined in a lifetime that I would have woken up that morning and had a sudden cardiac arrest.

"Not everyone can say they have a real life superhero, but I do."

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