4:09pm Wednesday 1st September 2010
The dad of a teenager brought back from the brink of death has hailed his recovery as a miracle and thanked those who saved his son’s life.
Seventeen-year-old Owen Grey, from Little Haven – a seemingly fit and healthy young man – suddenly collapsed while training with team mates at Haverfordwest rugby club earlier this month.
The Tasker Milward pupil lay motionless in the centre of the pitch. He had stopped breathing and had no pulse.
Had it not been for the prompt action of Haverfordwest RFC coach Stephen Barnett, a former paramedic, Owen would have died where he lay.
“It felt so surreal,” said Mr Barnett, a former Haverfordwest captain.
“All the boys were jogging and next thing I knew they were shouting to me to come and help him. There was no pulse so I immediately began CPR on him – I knew I only had a few minutes as lack of oxygen to the brain would result in permanent damage.
“I don’t mind admitting that I was terrified. I was willing him to come round.”
Eventually Mr Barnett detected a weak pulse and his colleagues Andrew Curtis and his son Will, along with Steve O’Leary, also leapt into action.
Mr O’Leary, a police officer, telephoned the emergency services and his calm, efficient instructions saw an ambulance arrive within minutes.
By coincidence, taking the call at ambulance control was George Oulton, a friend and former rugby team-mate of Owen’s father, Andy.
Thankfully, the story has a happy ending.
Owen had a short stay at Withybush before being transferred to Swansea’s Morriston Hospital where he was given specialist treatment.
He has undergone tests with doctors examining the possibility of a genetic heart condition but scans have revealed no lasting damage.
Owen has since been sat up in hospital and chatting with friends about exam results via his Facebook page which has dozens of messages of support.
His dad Andy, former headteacher at Hakin Junior School said: “It really is a miracle, there’s no other word for it.
“Barney (Mr Barnett) came to my door last week and said ‘Andy I don’t know what to say’. I didn’t say anything, I just hugged him. There were tears, the emotion just overwhelmed us both.
“I can’t thank them enough – all of them, the boys, particularly Barney, the ambulance crew (Oliver Harries, Martin Fayre, Mike Jones and Martin Hughes) the crash teams at Withybush and Morriston, the intensive care unit at Withybush – they all worked so hard for Owen. We owe them all so much. The NHS gets so much stick but in my eyes, with what’s happened here, he could not have been in any better hands.”
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