A STOURBRIDGE postie has been hailed a hero after saving the life of an elderly man who collapsed while visiting the town’s sorting office.
Darryl Taylor, aged 78, from Wollaston, had stopped off outside the sorting office off the ring road to collect a parcel at lunchtime last Wednesday (November 23) but as he walked away he fell to the floor.
His wife Anne screamed for help and luckily her pleas were heard by postman Dan Howells who rushed over and began performing CPR.
Mr Taylor’s family have credited the brave postie for saving the retired welder’s life.
Son-in-law Simon Wilkes said: “He stopped breathing for 15 minutes and his heart stopped for beating for five.
“Dan saved his life.”
The lifesaving postal worker worked on Mr Taylor until the arrival of emergency medics which included Midlands Air Ambulance critical care paramedic Ryan James, who has featured on TV’s Ambulance:Code Red.
Lynn gave thanks on Twitter to all those who rushed to help as the emergency unfolded at around 12.30pm.
She said: “Massive thank you to West Midlands Ambulance Service for saving my Dad’s life last Wednesday and the critical care doctor Ryan who also attended. Also, to the postman Dan Howells who performed CPR until the crews arrived.
“Dad is still in hospital awaiting a pacemaker but is doing well – thanks to you.”
And she added: “Dan was amazing. My Dad is still with us thanks to him. He deserves a medal. There are no words to thank Dan enough for his amazing efforts.”
Hero postie Dan Howells, a father-of-two who has worked for Royal Mail for more than 20 years, said he’d only been at work 45 minutes when the drama unfolded.
He told the News that after calling 999 for an ambulance – he began carrying out CPR despite not having done any first aid training for about 18 years.
He said: “I just went hell for leather making sure he had the best chance until the ambulance service came.”
He added: “It was all a bit of a blur after that – realising what happened. It came as a bit of a shock but I’m just happy Darryl is on the mend. It all worked out really well.”
Dan, a former FA football coach for Dudley Sports and Forest Falcons, said he now hopes to re-do his first aid training – just in case he’s ever called upon again in an emergency.
Mr Taylor’s son-in-law Simon heaped praise on Dan on Twitter for his heroism.
He said: “We are so thankful for the quick actions of Dan Howells of Royal Mail Stourbridge for performing CPR on Lynn’s dad and Kelly Noakes, also from Royal Mail Stourbridge in alerting Lynn immediately. Between you and the amazing West Midlands Ambulance Service you saved my father-in-law’s life.”
West Midlands Ambulance Service responded with gratitude for the praise, saying it was “great news” to hear Mr Taylor was doing well and adding: “The value of bystander CPR demonstrated so well in this case."
A spokesperson for the service added: “It is always a welcome sight to our staff to see bystanders performing CPR when they arrive on scene as every second counts when someone is in cardiac arrest.
“This case is the perfect example of how crucial learning CPR is in helping to save a life and we’d like to thank the bystanders for their swift actions. We’re delighted to hear the patient is continuing to recover well and we would like to thank the family for their kind words on Twitter. Their message has been passed to our compliments team who will ensure that the staff involved receive the family’s message."