Duddingston cardiac arrest victim, 47, thanks medics who saved his life

A father-of-two who went into cardiac arrest in Waverley station has spoken about the life-threatening incident for the first time.

Donald Scott, of Duddingston, near Portobello, was walking through the station towards the Old Town to see a Fringe Festival show on August 3, 2018.

On the way the 47-year-old accountant collapsed in the middle of the busy station.

“The rest is a blur,” he said. “I woke up five or six days later with tubes sticking out.”

Members of the British Transport Police already at the station initiated CPR, and the Scottish Ambulance Service arrived within minutes.

Mr Scott’s heart was restarted and he was rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Not knowing what had happened, the friends he was planning to meet sent him “dog’s abuse” for not arriving at the show.

“They were mortified once they heard what happened,” Mr Scott said. “I am very lucky to be alive. We all saw the funny side later.”

When Mr Scott woke up several days after the incident he was confused.

“I was wondering what on earth was going on,” he said. “There were all sorts of pipes everywhere and I was a bit groggy. I wondered what had happened. Doctors and nurses explained what was going on.”

Mr Scott spent a week in intensive care, and remained in hospital until September 15.

While in hospital a second cardiac arrest on August 24 meant he had to have an emergency operation. He has now had a cardiac defibrillator implanted to prevent any further cardiac arrests.

Mr Scott thanked Philip Chambers, Robbie Somers and Ross Hockaday of the Scottish Ambulance Service Edinburgh Unit for saving his life.

“It scared the living daylights out of me,” he said. “I was not guaranteed to survive and my life was in the balance. I am very, very thankful, and grateful to staff at ERI and for SAS.”

Mr Scott recently met with specialist paramedic Ross Hockaday to thank him and the rest of the ambulance team in person.

“It was really lovely to meet Donald,” Hockaday said. “It is certainly not often we see patients who were so unwell have such positive outcomes.”

Mr Scott is now making a gradual recovery, and was able to spend Christmas at home with his family.