Wetherby man, John Kelly, has been expressing his gratitude to 60-year-old Garry Watson, a domestic assistant at Windsor Court care home, for performing life-saving CPR on him.
When John was found by his neighbour, Ann, struggling to breathe, Ann quickly called 999. Whilst waiting for an ambulance to arrive, Ann noticed Garry outside and asked if he could help to safely lay John on the floor as ambulance dispatch had instructed her to.
Jumping into action, Garry ran into John’s house and immediately began CPR. The ambulance arrived five minutes later, with the paramedics saying without Garry’s assistance, John may not have made it.
Once John had recovered, he wrote a letter of gratitude to Garry, which reads,
‘There are no words that can express my gratitude for the fact that you were home that day. Not to mention the fact that you are a trained first aider and in the face of adversity your training kicked in and basically… you saved my life!
‘I have been given another chance to continue with my best life which I fully intend to do!’
John and his wife, Hazel, included a gift voucher in the letter for Garry to spend a night away at the couple’s favourite spot in Whitby.
When the residents and staff at Windsor Court found out about Garry’s heroic actions, they proudly presented him with a ‘Hero Award’, flowers and gifts. Humbled by the presentation, Garry said,
‘I’m overwhelmed! I did not expect all the attention, it’s such a nice thing to do. I did what anyone else would have done, it’s about saving a life not about me – life is precious.’
Lisa Harding, the Regional Director at Windsor Court, added,
‘We are all so incredibly proud of Garry, he’s a true hero and we feel very lucky to have him as part of the Windsor Court family. He’s kind, caring and he’s always thinking of others, and he is so deserving of our Hero Award.
‘We’d also like to send our best wishes to Mr Kelly and his wife, who we hope are doing very well.’
Windsor Court, operated by Ideal Carehomes, is a residential and dementia care home rated ‘GOOD’ by the Care Quality Commission. All 66 bedrooms are en-suite, enabling staff to deliver person-centred care in a dignified manner, promoting independence as far as possible.
For more information, you can contact Windsor Court on 01937 586651, email windsor.court@idealcarehomes.co.uk or visit www.idealcarehomes.co.uk.