On Saturday 5th November at Cadishead Sports Junior Football Club’s home ground, referee Steve Smith had kicked off the under-10’s football match as normal. However, 10 minutes in, with no prior symptoms or complaints, Steve collapsed to the ground.
Parents and managers rushed to Steve’s aid, unsure of what had caused his collapse. They later found out he had suffered a cardiac arrest. Wife of assistant manager Phil Mitchell and one of the player’s mums, Claire Mitchell called 999 while the defibrillator was retrieved.
Guided by the operator, Claire got down on her hands and knees to assess whether Steve was breathing normally or not. When she realised he was not, she was instructed by the operator to start using the defibrillator.
The defib analysed Steve’s heart rhythm and delivered a life-saving shock. Following the first shock, no further shocks were needed, and a team of parents and managers did CPR for 14 minutes until the ambulance service arrived on scene.
Managers Dave Ingle, Phil Mitchell and Nick Bracken and parents Claire, Becky Bracken, Ady Fletcher, Paul Kelly and a parent from the other team Kelly were part of the life-saving rescue that took place that day.
On the 10th November, Cadishead Sports JFC won the Special Recognition award at the Manchester FA Grassroots Awards, which was presented to the Cadishead Parents and Coaches by Steve himself who is pictured with lifesavers above.
At the awards, Steve was asked about his recollection of the day and what happened, and after confirming he couldn’t remember anything, Steve said: “Without the defib and everything else that was there, I wouldn’t be here today.” Watch Steve speaking about that day here.
Manager Dave Ingle paid tribute to the parents and coaches involved in Steve’s rescue which can be watched here.
Steve’s recovery has been slow but is progressing well and the doctors working with him at the hospital said that without the use of the defibrillator, Steve, who is in his 50s, would not have survived.
Claire told us that the paramedics were overjoyed that they had a defibrillator at the club to use on Steve following his collapse and that it was imperative to his survival.
Donated to the club by local business defibshop.co.uk, Chief Executive David Howarth said:
“We donated the defibrillator to the club over 5 years ago as part of a campaign to keep our local children heart safe. My sons once played on the ground and I personally know a lot of the parents and coaches involved with the club. When we heard about Steve’s rescue, everyone at defibshop.co.uk was over the moon that the defibrillator was used successfully to save his life and we’re incredibly proud that the club won the prestigious Special Recognition award at the Manchester FA Grassroots Awards 2017.”
The Manchester FA Grassroots Awards 2017 was held on 10th November and videos talking about Steve’s rescue can be found on the Manchester FA Facebook page.
Cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of their age, gender, fitness level or lifestyle. The only definitive treatment for a victim of cardiac arrest is immediate and effective CPR and the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). If definitive treatment is administered within 3-5 minutes following a collapse, a victim’s chance of surviving cardiac arrest raises to 74% from 6% without.
To read more of our survival stories, visit our Survivor Story page here. To find out more about defibrillators, visit our page or give one of our helpful team a call on 0161 776 7422.
