John Deery’s story is nothing short of miraculous and highlights the life-saving importance of defibrillators.
An experienced long-distance runner, John was fit and healthy when he took on the Belfast Marathon in May at the age of 63.
He got the running bug when he did his first 5k race in June 2010. He went on to complete the Belfast Marathon in 2019 and 2022, as well as the Dublin Marathon in 2023.
Despite being at peak fitness, John would almost lose his life when he collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Belfast Marathon in May.
The medical emergency happened at the halfway point of the marathon at Finaghy crossroads.
John has no memory of what happened, but eyewitnesses on the day describe how his eyes were rolling back in his head and he had stopped breathing.
Luckily, a few people happened to be in the right place at the right time. One was a sister in the cardiac ward at Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital who performed CPR on John.
By pure chance, a man called Peter O’Hare — who had planned on running the marathon before suffering an injury during training — was watching the race at Finaghy crossroads when he spotted John lying on the ground.
The 44-year-old happens to work at medical equipment manufacturer Stryker and oversees their defibrillator portfolio. Peter had a defibrillator in his car nearby and was able to use it on John while performing CPR, ultimately saving his life.
John spent three days in intensive care before making a full recovery.
Now John and Peter have teamed up with the British Heart Foundation for a campaign promoting The Circuit — the national defibrillator network which provides emergency services with the locations of defibrillators across the UK.
The importance of registering defibrillators cannot be overstated.
In Northern Ireland, 3,500 are registered on The Circuit — but many are not.
Swiftly performing CPR and defibrillation can be the difference between life and death.
Every minute without CPR and defibrillation following cardiac arrest can reduce the chance of someone’s survival by up to 10%.
Each year there are more than 1,400 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Northern Ireland and, tragically, less than one in 10 people survive. John’s story shows that a cardiac arrest can happen to anyone, regardless of their fitness and health.
Everyone should get behind The Circuit campaign and help save lives.