Former Hucknall firefighter reunited with ambulance team who saved his life

In the early hours of May 30, 2022, Robert Fensom should have got out of bed as usual to take his dog out for a walk.

But on this occasion, he wasn’t stirring.

Sue, his wife of 40 years, knowing this was odd, went to try and wake him, only to make the frightening discovery that he was unresponsive, and his breathing was shallow.

Robert said: “I don’t remember anything from a few days leading up to what happened.

“I don’t even have any recollection of watching the Nottingham Forest game the day before, which is not something I would normally forget.”

Someone who does remember everything vividly, however, is Sue.

She said: “He was just lying there making strange gurgling noises and I started to become scared.

“I rolled him over and I saw one of his eyes was bulging open and it was just blankly staring at me, with the other eye shut.

“I shook him really hard and yelled at him but was getting no response.”

Sue immediately called 999 and spoke to emergency medical advisor Chloe Irving, who identified that Robert was in cardiac arrest.

Chloe said: “I started to instruct Sue that she needed to start doing chest compressions on Robert as soon as possible.

“Sue was initially having some difficulties as she explained that her husband was on the bed when we needed him to be on a hard and flat surface for Sue to be able to commence effective cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

“Sue was concerned about hurting Robert as she would need to push him off the bed, but I reassured her we needed to help him immediately and not to worry about the fall.

“Despite this being a very scary and distressing experience for Sue, she listened to my instructions which will have no doubt given Robert a fighting chance until the ambulance crew arrived.”

Sue, who had never needed to do CPR until that moment, added: “The lady on the other end of the phone instigated me to start doing what Robert needed me to do, which I believe has played a massive part in him still being with us today.”

Paramedic Rob Keenan was first on scene and he immediately took over CPR from Sue.

Rob said: “I identified that Robert’s heart was in a shockable rhythm, so I began with a resuscitation attempt and used a defibrillator, which managed to get his heart beating again.”

Minutes later, Rob received back up from Ed Cannon, paramedic and duty commander, and ambulance crew team Ellen Beer and Rosie Blyton-Flewitt.

Robert was taken to Queen’s Medical Centre for further treatment and he has now had a pacemaker fitted.

Robert said: “It sends electrical pulses to my heart to keep it beating regularly without me even noticing.

Robert and his family also got the chance to thank the ambulance team who saved his life once again earlier this month when he was reunited with them at a special event.

He said: “I’m grateful to still be alive, with no life-changing impacts, meaning I can continue to keep fit and active which is what I love to do.”