Family's thanks after Teesdale teenager suffers cardiac arrest

THE family of a teenager who suffered a cardiac arrest at a Barnard Castle gym has thanked all those who kept him alive.
Lewis Hall was doing his usual gym routine last Tuesday (January 3) when he fell ill at Glaxo Sports and Social Club shortly after 3pm. Luckily, off-duty detective Darren Edgar was next to the 17-year-old when he took a turn for the worse.
Det Con Edgar performed CPR and operated a defibrillator in the gym before fire staff and paramedics arrived.
The youngster was placed in an induced coma and stabilised before being flown by Great North Air Ambulance to James Cook Hospital, in Middlesbrough – a journey taking just nine minutes.
After treatment in intensive care, Lewis’ condition improved and he was transferred to Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital for further tests on Monday (January 9).
Mum Jane Hall revealed he was now awake and looking forward to going home.
She said: “He’s not too bad now – he’s sat up in bed and looks quite well. They’re going to do some more tests to try to understand what happened.”
Ms Hall passed on thanks to DC Edgar from Lewis and the family through the Cleveland detective’s mum, who happens to work on the coronary care unit at James Cook.
“We are happy to share a great big thank you to everyone at GSK for their help and the defibrillator,” she added.
“The hospital says the fact he was seen to so quickly has meant his recovery has been so much quicker – so it was really vital.”
DC Edgar, who lives in Teesdale, had not used his CPR training at any point in his career until last week. But when the time came he was prepared.
“The fire brigade were on the scene quickly and we all worked between the three of us – that’s what helped,” said the 35-year-old.
“All the staff in the gym were fantastic and the other gym users were as well. They all helped him to get to hospital as soon as possible.”
He urged everyone to grasp the chance to get first aid training.
“The biggest thing I would say is get that training,” he said.
“I’ve only lived in the area for about 18 months and it is quite remote – the more of these defibrillators are around, the more people they can help.”
Ms Hall said Lewis was now feeling “a bit bored” but was thankful his cardiac arrest happened within reach of a defibrillator.
“If it had happened at home, or even down the street, I don’t know what would have happened,” she added.
Lewis’ brother-in-law, Scott Denton, said the teenager was keen on lifting weights and his build had changed.
“He was lifting weights at the time – I wondered if that was the issue but I spoke to some of the lads and they said it’s something he usually does,” added Mr Denton.
“If the defibrillator was not there it could have been a different story – he was very lucky.
“I spent three or four hours with him on Saturday and he seemed really well – hopefully he will be back home in a week.”
Ms Hall said the family would be happy to get in touch with DC Edgar as Lewis recovers.