Stamford Striders receive awards from Royal Humane Society
Six runners who helped save a man’s life have been recognised with honours from the Royal Humane Society.
When Tony Comber collapsed with a cardiac arrest while out with members of Stamford Striders running club, he was fortunate to be with people who reacted swiftly.
Fellow runners Rupert Clifton and Nick Sheehan both have experience of running hospital crash teams and sprang into action.
Rupert, who lives in Carlby and works at Peterborough City Hospital as a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, began CPR, while Nick, a retired rheumatologist, monitored Tony’s airway and checked for a pulse.
Stamford firefighter Martin Candish was also involved in providing first aid, while Nicholas Bertrand, Stuart Hill and James McCloskey went in search of defibrillators.
As a result of their actions, a defibrillator was used within minutes and Tony regained a pulse before the ambulance arrived.
Since this happened in February last year, Tony has recovered so well that he is back running with the club and participating in races.
In recognition of their actions, Rupert and Nick are receiving Resuscitation Certificates - top national life-saving honours by the Royal Humane Society, and Nicholas, Martin, Stuart and James will receive Certificates of Commendation.
Thanking Tony for the nomination, Rupert said he is “delighted and honoured”, adding: “It gave me immense joy to see Tony make a full recovery. It was a true team effort that we are lucky enough to have him running with us today.”
Both Rupert and Nick stressed that while they are trained to treat people, the Stamford Striders who reacted with speed, efficiency and organisation without having formal medical experience were the ones deserving of recognition.
Tony cannot recall anything from the evening of his collapse outside the shop in Drift Road, Stamford. But he is sure he would not have survived were it not for the efforts of those being recognised.
He said: “You can say thank you but it never seems enough. Nominating the people who saved my life was a way to have what they did recognised.”
A record of the incident and a photo of those involved will now be kept in the Royal Humane Society archive for 100 years.
Tony is keen to promote first aid training for all, and for people to familiarise themselves with where the nearest defibrillator is kept.