"A 999 call made at 01.30 hr June 2013"

I was wakened from sleep by my partner, he appeared to be having a seizure but he then attempted to get out of bed. When he did get out of bed he fell against the wall, and this is when I realised that he was in cardiac arrest. I am a cardiac nurse but I was alone in the house and live in a remote area of Devon.

I would like to thank the lady on the phone who kept up a conversation with me whilst I did hands only CPR as the most terrifying part was being alone and fearing that the paramedics would not arrive in time and that I would not be able to physically keep up CPR. I had the phone on loud speaker so that I could tell her what I was doing. She was very reasurring.

My partner has made a good recovery and is awaiting a bypass in the next two weeks. My thanks too to the paramedics who attended him. It felt like an eternity until they arrived, which I realise is normal in such a frightening situation but I am not sure though what the response time actually was.