A Dundee man has told how a doctor reached into his chest and restarted his heart, which stopped beating for 12 minutes, following a motorbike crash.
John Drummond, 29, suffered serious injuries, including losing his arm, after flying off his motorbike and skidding beneath a parked vehicle near the Kingsway in October.
The mechanic’s family were warned he probably would not survive his injuries when he was placed into a medically-induced coma at Ninewells Hospital.
But, thanks to the “tireless” efforts of the major trauma team, John pulled through.
It comes after his friends completed the “momentous” Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for new equipment at Ninewells Hospital.
Kevin Stewart, 35, Alan Crighton, 32, Ryan Nugent, 32, and Scott Robertson, 31, summitted the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in 24 hours.
The challenge – which consisted of 13 hours of climbing and 11 hours of driving – saw them raise over £2,600.
John, who was discharged from hospital in April, had only passed his motorcycle test a few months before the accident.
He said: “I was maybe going a wee bit too fast, and it was wet, and I just came off the bike.
“I think I was maybe a wee bit inexperienced.”
A taxi driver who witnessed the incident called an ambulance.
Doctor reached into Dundee man’s chest to restart stopped heart
The last thing John recalls, before waking up in hospital two weeks later, was lying beneath a parked car on the street.
John would undergo 10 major surgeries and receive 52 pints of blood – more than five times the usual amount in the human body – over the coming weeks.
He fell into cardiac arrest and it was “touch and go” as doctors worked hard to save his life.
Dr Mike Donald was forced to cut open his chest and perform a cardiac massage in order to restart his heart.
He had broken so many ribs in the crash that CPR was impossible.
Although the emergency procedure worked, it was feared that if John did wake up, he may have brain damage.
He also suffered from a punctured lung, part of which had to be removed.
Drains were put in place when his lungs became infected and filled with fluid.
John’s loved ones were also told he may lose his arm and leg, which had been badly injured.
Although doctors were left with no choice but to amputate his arm after it became infected, they were thankfully able to salvage his leg, which has had pins implanted.
Miraculously, John woke up from the coma after two weeks.
He was able to mouth words and had suffered no brain damage.
He was moved from the major trauma centre to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), before being placed into the care of the orthopaedics department.
Long road to recovery after motorbike crash
John said: “That’s when physio was.
“They were trying to get me back on my feet and get me moving about a bit again.
“At the start I couldn’t even sit up or anything. I couldn’t even go to the toilet.”
It was “two or three months” before he was able to stand up or even feed himself.
But, despite his horrific injuries, he says it has been easy to stay positive.
John, who lives with his girlfriend, Sophie Orr, 26, said: “Because my mates and the lass have been good with helping me out I’ve never been left to deal with things by myself.
“They’ve always been here to support me and make sure I am taken care of. It’s not been too bad.
“There’s nothing I can moan about.
“It could have been a lot worse – I might have not had a leg or might have been brain dead.”
How did John feel when his friends told him about their plans to raise money?
He said: “It was quite tear-jerking to be honest.
“They’re obviously doing it because they realise how much the hospital has done for me and how much physio has done to get me mobile again.
“It made me want to work even harder [to get better].”
The lads completed the three peaks challenge, climbing Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike in England, and Snowdon in Wales, on June 24.
Giving back
Alan, who became friends with John through their love of cars over 10 years ago, says the group trained for five months, climbing Munros every weekend in the run up to the expedition.
He says they decided to raise money for the hospital after seeing how hard staff worked to look after John.
He said: “The way they looked after him for months and months and months was insane.
“People don’t realise how much effort goes into something for that length of time.
“We just to be able to give something back.”
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