A dad who “died for ten minutes” after a massive heart attack described the experience as feeling like a “peaceful” sleep. Matthew Allick, 42, from Romford, East London, began feeling poorly at the end of August 2023, battling shortness of breath and swollen feet.
Despite being generally fit and healthy, the father of two brushed off his symptoms, attributing them to his body adapting to a new night shift routine. However, when Matthew found himself unable to climb even a single step at work, a colleague swiftly called for an ambulance.
Soon after reaching the hospital, the then 40-year-old actor and care line officer suffered a cardiac arrest due to a pulmonary embolism and collapsed. He was pronounced clinically dead for several minutes.
Waking up from a three-day coma, Matthew recalled no memories of the ordeal but likened it to emerging from “a peaceful sleep”. He’s now determined to spread the word about the critical role of blood donations, which he believes were instrumental in saving his life.
Reflecting on the onset of his health issues, Matthew recounted: “It was the end of August back in 2023 and I started noticing I had swollen feet. They would swell up and then go down the next day, so I ignored it. I thought it was just because of the night shifts I was doing at work, thinking my body wasn’t getting enough movement.”
He added: “But then simple tasks left me gasping for air, like standing up too quickly felt as though I’d just run a sprint. It never lasted long though and I considered myself fit and healthy – someone who went to the gym a few times a week and ate well – so I just thought it would go away.”
“Matthew continued: “But one Saturday I was at work and a friend said, ‘Let’s go look at the new coffee machine upstairs.’ I remember I went to take one step and I thought, ‘I can’t climb these stairs.'”. I said to my friend, ‘You need to call an ambulance’. At the time, I wasn’t in pain. But I knew something was wrong.”
Emergency responders reached the scene within five minutes and determined Matthew was experiencing an irregular heartbeat. Although they reassured him it was probably nothing serious, they transported him to Hammersmith Hospital as a precautionary measure.
Upon arrival, a doctor requested Michael rate his discomfort on a scale of one to ten. He recalled: “I told him that it had been a zero before but suddenly it was an eleven out of ten. He said that it couldn’t be an eleven, and I said, ‘Now it’s a thirteen.’ And then I dropped dead. I had no pulse, no heartbeat. Nothing.”
Medical staff deployed a defibrillator and administered CPR with such force that it resulted in internal bleeding. Matthew was declared clinically dead for several minutes before doctors successfully revived him and induced a coma.
Medical imaging revealed he had blood clots the “size of a cricket ball” affecting his heart and lungs, prompting surgeons to carry out multiple operations to extract them. The treatment involved using a catheter to “cut away at the clots” and multiple blood transfusions, which Matthew believes saved his life.
His family were given the grim prognosis that if he ever regained consciousness, he might be brain dead due to the prolonged period of oxygen deprivation to his brain. However, when Matthew woke up, he was fully alert, albeit with some memory issues.
He shared: “I don’t remember anything from when I was dead. But what I do remember is coming out of the coma and it felt like I had been sleeping. Everything was peaceful. It felt like a peaceful sleep.”
Upon regaining consciousness, Matthew initially feared paralysis as he was unable to move his body. But slowly, sensation began to return to his fingers and toes.
Matthew also faced challenges with his memory in the beginning, struggling to recall names and even distinguish colours. However, his memory gradually improved over time.
He said: “I slowly started to return to normal. At first, I could recognise faces but couldn’t get people’s names, and I remember I couldn’t recognise colours. My brother brought me an orange, and I said, what colour is that? But my brother spent time with me getting me to recite movie quotes to regain my memory. I also had to re-learn to sit up, how to walk, how to control my urine. It was a crazy journey.”
Learning that he had suffered a heart attack came as “a huge shock” to Matthew, especially since doctors are still uncertain about the cause. He recounted the moment of disbelief, saying: “I actually passed out when I learnt I had a heart attack. It was a huge shock. It just didn’t make sense. It felt like a lie. I kept thinking, ‘How could that happen to me?’ I was young, I wasn’t obese, I never smoked, I wasn’t an alcoholic. I’m actually still under investigation as the doctors don’t know why it happened.”
While recuperating in the hospital, Matthew was dubbed “a miracle man” by the medical staff, astonished by his survival against the odds. He shared their reactions: “When I was around the hospital a lot of doctors and nurses would point at me and say, ‘There he is’, coming up to me and saying I’m a miracle man. I was told only five per cent of people survive what I’ve been through. It was all incredibly rare.”
Having realised the life-saving impact of blood donations, Matthew is now dedicated to promoting blood donation awareness, particularly within Black heritage communities. NHS Blood and Transplant highlighted the importance of ethnically matched blood, noting that while Matthew’s treatment involved blood from diverse donors, there’s a significant need for more Black heritage donors.
A spokesperson from NHS Blood and Transplant said: “Although the blood used to treat Matthew came from a range of donors of different ethnicities, the need for more Black heritage donors to come forward to provide ethnically matched blood is well established.”
Matthew expressed his gratitude towards blood donors: “Without blood transfusions I wouldn’t be here today. We often don’t realise how critical blood donation is until we’re on the receiving end. Someone’s decision to give blood saved my life. That’s what I want more people to realise. I really want to raise awareness for blood donation – especially among the black community.”
He said: “Sometimes I have chest pains and find that my feet swell up, and I think, ‘Oh no, it’s happening again.’ But the great thing about Hammersmith Hospital is they’ve said to me to always come in if I’m worried, and they’ll see me straight away.”
He added: “On my good days I’m just living normal life. I’d say I’m 75 per cent of what I used to be – I’ll never be completely back to normal as I’ll be on blood thinners for the rest of my life. But I’m just so grateful to everyone who supported me and came to see me in hospital every day and encourage me.”
Matthew continued: “My friends, my family, my kids, and my fiancée at the time all really showed up for me. At one point I remember doctors saying there were too many people in the room. It just really made me realise how lucky I am to be alive.”
To find out more about giving blood visit Blood.co.uk, or call: 0300 123 23 23.
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