By Christine Sexton
The Echo
ESSEX, England — A restaurant owner revealed he owes his life to a twist of fate.
John Cross, who runs the Boatyard, in Leigh Old Town suffered a heart attack, lost consciousness and stopped breathing.
By chance an ambulance was near his remote home, in Creeksea Ferry Road, Canewdon.
The 70-year-old’s wife, Addi, called 999 while the whole incident was witnessed by the couple’s eight-year-old daughter, Claudia.
Mr Cross said: “I had a blood clot which caused a heart attack and it very nearly killed me. I suffered a cardiac arrest three times.
“The ambulance crew said, ‘if you believe in miracles, then you just had one’. They told me they had a call to Stambridge, which was cancelled so they were much nearer than they would have been.”
Mr Cross, who is now recovering, was full of praise for paramedics. He added: “They were amazing.
“They spent 45-minutes stabilising me before they took me to Basildon Hospital
“I’m in no doubt without them I wouldn’t be here.
“Addi went with me to the hospital while a paramedic stayed with Claudia until relatives could arrive. It was very traumatic for her.”
Southend paramedic Paul Warwick and emergency medical technician Mark Rowley visited Mr Cross at his restaurant, where he thanked them.
Mr Warwick said: “John had been suffering chest pain and it was particularly bad because, as it turned out, the blockage was quite high up in the artery. When we arrived he was really was very poorly.”
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