Woolton Hill man back in saddle after cardiac arrest

Tom Patterson, aged 67, set off from John O’ Groats on August 29 last year with the aim off cycling to Lands End to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity, in support of one of his sons, Etienne, an Andover firefighter.
On day 10, after riding 711 miles, on September 7, he went into cardiac arrest, said his wife, Linda Patterson, who was with him at the time.
“We were in a layby at Clapton-in-Gordano - a village near Bristol, off the M5, near junction 19, he had just cycled up Naish Hill,” she said, explaining that she had arranged to meet her husband at lunchtime at the top of the hill, together with his friend, Darren Young, of Maidstone - who was scheduled to cycle the next 20 miles with Mr Patterson.
“I was getting his drinks ready for the afternoon and he collapsed into the hedge - he looked dead when we pulled him out,” she added. Her husband was not riding his bicycle at the time and Mrs Patterson said his life was initially saved by Mr Young, who carried out some 450 heart compressions on his friend before a paramedic arrived to take over as Mrs Patterson had telephoned the emergency services.
Mr Patterson was taken to the Bristol Heart Institute at the Bristol Royal Infirmary, where he remained for around four days, initially in intensive care.
“I woke up to be confronted by sky blue curtains with white bits around my bed - I thought I was in heaven,” said Mr Patterson, adding he then heard the voice of a nurse calling his name.
He has since had an Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator (ICD) device fitted under the skin in his shoulder. The small battery powered device is programmed to detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it by delivering a jolt of electricity.
“I’ve never had such an experience before - it was literally like a fuse had gone. One moment I was talking normally and the next I was effectively dead,” he said, adding that doctors had not been able to pinpoint the cause and had ruled out that it was due to his bicycle activity at the time, lack of food and drink consumed on the day or his regular diet.
After being given the all clear by doctors, Mr Patterson, who still undergoes regular check-ups at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading for his condition, has pledged to finish the remaining 210 miles of his ride in three-and-a-half days, setting off on Wednesday, June 20, from the spot where he went into cardiac arrest last year.
“I do have quite a bit of apprehension, I don’t know the thing to do - or not to do - to prevent it happening again,” he said, but added that it would be wonderful to be joined by his four grandchildren at Lands End, to cycle over the finish line together.
A total of some £2,049 has so far been raised for the Fire Fighters Charity by Mr Patterson’s efforts. To sponsor him on the remainder of his ride, visit justgiving.com/tom-patterson.