An emotional reunion took place today for a family from Leicester, who met the East Midlands Ambulance Service crew who saved their father’s life after he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest while at work a year ago.
Khalid Mahomed, then 61, left his home in Leicester at 5am on 13 September 2024 for his job as a postman. He was looking forward to celebrating his eldest grandson’s birthday that evening. After collecting mail from the depot, Khalid set off on his delivery round.
While driving on his route, Khalid saw a broken down car and, stopped to help. While moving the vehicle, Khalid suddenly collapsed. He had suffered a heart attack, which led to a cardiac arrest.
Although Khalid has no memory of collapsing, his family can recall everything that happened from the moment they received the terrifying news.
Humera, Khalid’s daughter, said:
“My dad’s colleague, Ryan, quickly raised the alarm. He called my brother and alerted us that dad had an accident and a member of the public called 999. At first, we thought it was a hoax – we couldn’t believe what we were hearing. I called my dad’s mobile and his manager answered, confirming the news.”
Khalid had collapsed in the middle of a very busy dual carriageway in the city. His heart had stopped and he needed immediate medical intervention. Bystanders on scene called 999 immediately and started CPR, giving Khalid the best chance of survival.
Thanks to the quick thinking of the public, the EMAS crew – Daniel Hill, Bethany Robinson, Jessica Bingley, Mark Hill and Dr Matt Woods from the East Midlands Immediate Care Scheme – arrived quickly on scene.
On arrival, the crew jumped into action, taking over CPR and using a defibrillator to restart Khalid’s heart. After two attempts at resuscitation with the defibrillator, his heart began beating again – but he wasn’t out of danger just yet.
The crew rushed Khalid to Leicester Glenfield Hospital, where he was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. He was placed on a ventilator and sedated until late evening. On waking, he had no memory of the incident. The last thing he remembered was loading mail onto his van.
He said:
“The last thing I remember is getting all the mail loaded into my van and driving out the gate. Next thing I know, I am in hospital with everyone gathered around me explaining what happened.
“It was a bit of a shock to learn what happened considering that day I was feeling well and had no indication of what was going to happen.”
Following his cardiac arrest, doctors advised Khalid that he would need an internal defibrillator. This would help maintain his heart rhythm and reduce the risk of future cardiac arrests.
Now a year on from the incident, he looks back at his recovery and how far he has come.
He said: “Recovery was difficult when all I wanted to do was to get back to normal and yet so many things had to change. I found that some of the time, I struggled with processing what had happened to me but my family have been an incredible support.
“That day changed my life completely. I look forward to my life now.
“Meeting the crew who helped me has been that missing piece of the puzzle and for me and my wife, this has been all we have wanted since the day my cardiac arrest happened. It is a day we have been looking forward to for many months. Without them, I would not be here today.
“I would still love to meet the members of the public who stepped in that day and have the chance to say thank you for what they did. I know their CPR also made the difference.”
Looking back at what happened in September last year, Khalid’s family said:
“We cannot thank the ambulance crew enough. Their quick action and expertise saved dad’s life. CPR truly made the difference between life and death.”
Khalid’s daughter Humera added:
“I’m first aid trained and know how to use a defibrillator. Now, from personal experience, I can say it saves lives. Learning CPR is a small step that can have a life-changing impact.”
Jessica Bingley, Student Technician said:
“It is an absolute privilege to be here today and meet Khalid properly. This is why we do this job. For me, it is quite emotional seeing him sat here because it is a job which I remember so well.
“The fact that Khalid has recovered so well and is sat here with us today is testament to the support of his family and hard work of both the bystanders who did CPR and the clinicians on scene that day.”
Cardiac arrest can happen anywhere, at any time. Less than 1 in 10 people in the UK survive an Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest. In 2024, 7553 Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest calls were attended across the East Midlands. Data collected by EMAS shows that of those calls, 81.9% happened at home and 53.6% of those 7553 cardiac arrests were witnessed by a bystander.
Immediate CPR can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival. Every minute without CPR reduces survival rates significantly, making bystander intervention critical. Learning CPR is the key to bystanders becoming lifesavers when every second counts.
Visit the Community Trainer section of our website to book a free one-hour training session with our volunteers. Learn life-saving CPR and how to use an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)—skills that could help you save a life.