When Karen Armour took her usual shift driving the Moffat and Williamson ‘town bus’ around Cupar, she never expected the day would lead to saving a man’s life.
But thanks to her quick thinking and CPR training, she helped bring 91-year-old Gerry Bonar back from the brink of possible death after he collapsed near Tesco.
“I was driving the bus as usual, and Gerry – one of my regular passengers – was about to board at the back of Tesco when he just collapsed with his shopping bags and cracked his head,” Karen recalled.
“There was no pulse, and he was completely unresponsive. I don’t even remember thinking. I just jumped into action.”
With the help of a passerby, who called for an ambulance, Karen started performing CPR.
She only had to do one stroke, and Gerry “came back.”
However, he passed out again right after, and no pulse could be found.
“I kept going, performing CPR again and again until he stayed conscious,” said Karen.
“It was terrifying, but there was no way I was leaving until I knew he was okay.”
What does 91-year-old Gerry remember about his hero bus driver?
Gerry, originally from Methilhill, remembers what happened with great clarity, despite being disoriented from what he describes as a “stumble”.
Trying to see the funny side, he laughs that it’s the first time he’s been knocked out since his National Service boxing days in the early 1950s.
Back then, he fought in the light-heavyweight class with the Royal Scots Greys, stationed in Libya.
However, the sprightly widower, who lost his wife to dementia, is forever grateful for everything Karen did to help him.
“When I go shopping, I have a backpack because I’ve got a walking stick, see, and it was exceptionally heavy this day,” he told The Courier, recovering at home in Cupar.
“I sort of fumbled my feet somewhere and fell backwards, cracked my head on the concrete, and knocked myself out.
“There was an ‘egg’ on the back of my head. When I woke up, Karen had her hand in mine, and I put my other one there, because it was a braw feeling. I never wanted to let it go,” he said fondly.
Karen’s instincts and training from years ago kicked in at just the right time.
Despite the emotional toll of the incident, she carried on, continuing her bus route that day.
However, she admits she was “in shock that night”, adding: “I had to get someone else to drive my bus home.”
How long has former hairdresser Karen been a bus driver?
Karen, who lives in Glenrothes, started driving buses in August 2023.
Before that, the former Buckhaven High School pupil was a hairdresser – a profession she still holds dear.
Moving to Glenrothes with her son Rhys, now 27, helped Karen find a fresh start.
She now drives the town service in Cupar, a route she’s grown to love.
She drives up to the Adamson Hospital about 17 times a day.
It’s more than a job – she says it’s “like a wee community on the bus”.
Many of her passengers, especially the elderly ones going to and from the hospital, have become friends.
They tell her everything about their ailments, their lives. “Some of them say I’m like a wee therapist,” she shares. “It’s really sweet”.
This sense of community is what made the incident with Gerry so personal.
“He’s a sprightly 91-year-old, still sharp and independent,” she said.
“He only takes the bus because his shopping’s a bit heavy to carry,” Karen added fondly.
“When he collapsed, it felt like a member of my family was in trouble.”
For Gerry, this community connection was a lifeline. He praises both Karen and the bus service that takes him almost door-to-door from his home to Tesco.
He added: “She’s part of the community. Everybody loves her.”
Why is CPR so important?
Karen’s quick thinking and CPR knowledge made all the difference that day.
It’s a skill she’s passionate about, especially after her own tragic experience with her late father, Donald Rosie.
In 2016, he passed away aged 66 at home in Methilhill. Despite her efforts to perform CPR, she wasn’t able to save him.
“I was with him when he died,” she recalls. “He was feeling unwell, and I stayed the night to keep him calm. I tried everything when he went, but I couldn’t bring him back.”
That heartbreaking experience has stayed with Karen ever since.
“I still find it hard to accept that I couldn’t save my dad, but the doctor told me there was nothing I could have done. Even so, it sticks with you.”
Karen’s CPR training, which she first received many years ago as a Beaver Scout leader, proved invaluable in that moment.
She is now a passionate advocate for more people learning CPR. “It’s literally a lifesaver,” she says.
Bus company praises its ‘caring and conscientious’ driver
The day after the incident, Karen wasn’t sure if she could face going back to work. She was shaken, but needed to know how Gerry was.
She drove past his house several times, and finally, in the afternoon, she saw his lights on.
She stopped the bus and went up to the door, and there he was.
“He gave me a big hug and said:‘I don’t know what I would have done without you.’
That moment meant the world to me.”
Moffat and Williamson general manager Jim Mooney said everyone at the bus company is “so proud” of Karen.
He said: “To assist Gerry in this way was a credit to Karen although, we are not surprised as she’s a very caring and conscientious person who loves what she does on the Cupar community bus.
“We operate a lot of services like this where the drivers get familiar with the passengers and vice versa and there’s concern if they miss their normal day of travel. It’s a great thing.”
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