News Reader.info

Man saved girlfriend's life when her heart stopped, aged 27Shaun 'didn't even think' and rushed to the scene to give Sophie life-saving CPR.NewsNeil Shaw Assistant Editor11:26, 08 Mar

2024Updated 11:50, 08 Mar 2024Sophie and Shaun A 30-year-old man saved his girlfriend's life when her heart stopped suddenly as she was out delivering food for Asda. When Asda home shopping

driver Sophie Miller went into cardiac arrest last September, her boyfriend and colleague Shaun Musgrove rushed to the scene and gave her life-saving CPR.

The couple had only just started dating when Sophie collapsed as she delivered to a customer. Sophie had texted Shaun to say she wasn't feeling well, and when he called her back the

customer's neighbour told him that she'd called 999 after seeing Sophie pass out.

Shaun rushed over and performed two sets of CPR under the direction of a 999 call handler – and Sophie started to come around by the time paramedics arrived. Shaun said: "When I got there

Sophie was unconscious and a lady was on the phone to the paramedics. At this point Sophie's heart was only beating once every six or seven seconds and her breathing once every 30 seconds,

then her heart rate stopped altogether and so did her breathing.

"The paramedics said I had to perform CPR so I did that for about 45 seconds and she started to come round. But when I stopped, her heart stopped again so I had to continue. After about two

minutes, her heart started to beat again but she wasn't awake and then the paramedics pulled up just as she started to open her eyes. They were pretty quick getting there.

"I'd never done CPR before. I just did it from instinct as I was panicking a bit too. I'd watched a video at some point about doing it to the Bee Gee's Stayin' Alive so I did that. My heart

sank when I saw her out cold on the floor. I just thought 'no way', she's just come into my life and brought me all this happiness and I thought she's now going to leave me. I was

heartbroken.

"The relief when she started to breathe again and her heart started to beat was unbelievable. It was so emotional. I knew Sophie was someone I definitely wanted to be with, but this proved

it. I didn't want to lose her."

Article continues below Sophie, who's 27, has had heart palpitations on and off for about seven years. She said: "When I came round and saw Shaun's face above me I felt so safe and relieved.

I don't know how I did it but I mustered up all this strength and I just grabbed his collar. I had tears in my eyes. I was just so glad that he was there for me. He is an absolutely amazing

person. I didn't think this sort of love would ever happen to me, but it has."

Sophie can't remember much of that day, only that she was dropping off groceries. She said: "I was out on a delivery and I told Shaun that I'd had heart palpitations, I've always had thing

but they've never been anything serious.

"I'd just done one drop for one customer in Seaham and I felt my heart go really slow, so I messaged Shaun to say 'I don't want to worry you, but my heart's going really slow.' When I went

to deliver to the next customer's house and started to unload the stuff, I sat down on the ledge by the shutter on the van as my heart didn't seem to be going.

"The customer's next-door neighbour came out and asked if I was okay and I said I was fine and that it was nothing really to worry about. I then passed out and I don't really know exactly

what happened next only what I've been told."

Sophie was taken to hospital with Shaun by her side and was put on an ECG heart monitor throughout the night. She said: "Since then I've had heart scans and been talking to consultants and

cardiologists from both Sunderland Hospital and James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough. I have a loop recorder now in my chest so if I feel any flutters or palpitations or anything I have a

special button that I press which sends the info to James Cook. They said I've got an extra electrical current running through my heart, but they are still working out what to do next."

Sophie says her relationship with Shaun has gone from strength to strength since the incident, and they now live together in Peterlee, along with Sophie's two-year-old daughter Olivia.

She said: "After all this happened we made things properly official as we were just dating and just talking before that. When I walked into the pod at 6am they put on the song 'Why do birds

suddenly appear' on the Bluetooth speaker. Our colleagues are all rooting for us."

While Sophie is still undergoing tests she isn't on home deliveries but still working in the home shopping pod. Shaun, who started working at the store in September 2021, said: "Sophie's

just perfect and so funny. She's got mint craic and such a positive attitude towards life – and on top of everything else she's absolutely beautiful too."

Sophie started working at the store in June last year and recalls when she first saw Shaun. She said: "I think I was taking totes out of the van as I was still doing my buddy training at the

time. I looked at him and thought he's very handsome and cute.

Article continues below "After about a month or so I had a bit of Dutch courage one night and I messaged him and we started to talk to each other back and forth every day and then started to

go out."

Bev Dean, Asda Peterlee's customer trading manager, said:" It’s amazing what Shaun did. He didn’t even stop to think about it; he just went to her rescue and started CPR and saved her life.

They’re such a sweet couple. They both have a heart of gold and just want to be happy. Sophie has a little girl and she tells me that Shaun and her daughter spend hours having fun in their

own little world and sometimes she doesn’t get a look in!"