A NI man has been recognised for giving back after he almost died from a cardiac arrest while running the Belfast marathon
A cardiac arrest survivor from Northern Ireland has won a Community Resuscitation Champion award at the Heart Hero awards ceremony in London.
The star-studded event, organised by British Heart Foundation, took place at Bloomsbury Ballroom and saw John Deery win the award for his outstanding contribution to improving lifesaving skills in Northern Ireland.
John had a cardiac arrest at the Belfast Marathon in May 2024 but fortunately, his life was saved by bystanders who performed CPR and defibrillation. Once John recovered, he was determined to make a positive impact in the community. In the last year, he’s helped children and adults learn CPR through BHF’s RevivR tool, fundraised for defibrillators and has also driven awareness of The Circuit.
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The 64-year-old, from Eglinton in Co Derry, said: “Nineteen months ago, my heart stopped for six and a half minutes when I had a cardiac arrest at the Belfast Marathon. Thanks to amazing bystanders, including a retired cardiac nurse called Rosie who performed CPR and Peter who used a defibrillator to restart my heart, my life was saved that day.
“After my recovery, I felt so incredibly grateful to be given another chance of life and wanted to do some good in response. I really found that opening with BHF as the charity that champions CPR and maintains The Circuit database, which ensures emergency call handlers can direct people to their nearest registered defibrillator.”
John’s community work has included working with BHF to encourage everyone to learn CPR through RevivR and helping to launch BHF’s CPR training for schools called Classroom RevivR as well as sharing information about the Community Defibrillator Scheme.
He was recognised alongside several inspiring supporters who mingled with celebrity guests including Gemma Atkinson, Ollie Proudlock, Tom Lockyer and TV presenter Vernon Kay — who hosted the ceremony.
Patricia Thompson, Health and Wellbeing officer at Bredagh GAC, where John coached for 25 years, commented: “I think John’s remarkable in how he’s recovered and the fabulous work he’s doing with sports organisations and community groups to encourage CPR and defibrillator training, while also ensuring clubs have their defib registered on The Circuit.
“He truly deserves this award for the dedication he’s shown to improving survival rates and particularly in his education of young people both in the clubs and in schools.”
Fearghal McKinney, head of British Heart Foundation said: “John has talked about the people who assisted his survival at the time of his cardiac arrest as his ‘heartbeat’ or ‘angels’. But the work that John has gone on to do, amplifying the survival message, encouraging the registration of defibs, RevivR and The Circuit, means he’s an angel himself.
“There are now over 4,000 defibrillators in Northern Ireland registered on The Circuit. John worked with BHF to be at the forefront of The Circuit registrations campaign and during his story, he communicated so eloquently the importance of having defibrillators that are accessible in public places and registered on The Circuit.
“I’m delighted that John has been awarded Community Resuscitation Champion as the work he is doing in the community is making a fantastic difference to the work British Heart Foundation is doing across Northern Ireland.”
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