A Stirling man has recalled how it felt to “die” for seven minutes as he suffered a cardiac arrest.
Danny Letford was at his Bannockburn home enjoying the first few awake hours of his 71st birthday on Wednesday March 29 2023 when he suddenly became unwell.
His partner Yvonne Davie, who was only off work because of the birthday, took him to Bannockburn Medical Practice.
Once there, medics soon called an ambulance due to Danny’s symptoms and his background of cholesterol-related heart problems.
Danny told The Courier: “I was sitting on a bench and the doctor said I have to go to hospital because of my history.
“I heard them talking to the ambulance service and told them some of the background and what to expect.
“So I went over and told Yvonne and told her that they were phoning for an ambulance to Forth Valley Hospital and it may be an hour or so before they were here.
“That’s the last thing I knew.”
Bannockburn man saw ‘no shining light’
Danny had collapsed because his heart had stopped beating.
Without immediate intervention, this “death” would be permanent.
Not a religious man, Danny had never previously contemplated what would happen next.
“I saw nothing,” he said.
“There was no shining light. It was just a very peaceful time.
“I had no recollection of anything. No pain, nothing.
“One minute I was here, the next minute I was gone, the next minute I was back again.”
Family friend helps save life of his former babysitter
Frantic efforts were being made to resuscitate Danny.
Coincidentally, one of the two paramedics desperately trying to restart his heart with a defibrillator was Greg Farquharson, who he used to babysit for.
Almost seven minutes after the collapse, Danny came around.
“The next thing I knew I was kicking and punching and screaming,” he said.
“I was in a state of hypoxia because when you are dead for a certain length of time there is no oxygen in your brain.
“And your body gives up before your brain does.
“Greg was a family friend.
“He tried to calm me down and kept saying I will be okay.
“‘F*** off’, I am shouting, ‘you’re not Craig. ‘Somebody sent you from Mars to pretend you are Craig’.
“I was totally confused. They were trying to put oxygen masks on me but I threw them off.
“They lay across my legs to try to calm me down.
“This seemed to go on forever but it may have been a minute or so until all of a sudden I did calm down.
“The oxygen had returned to my brain.”
Danny Letford had to be rescued from Tentsmuir during Dundee Kiltwalk
The near-death experience underscores a series of recent health afflictions for the retired construction worker.
Danny had two strokes in 2012, and has endured two further heart attacks.
He has also recovered from prostate cancer diagnosed in 2020.
And another dramatic experience occurred in August 2023, less than five months after the cardiac arrest.
Danny was taking part in the Dundee Kiltwalk when his heart suffered atrial fibrillation in Fife’s Tentsmuir Forest.
“My heart rate was 200 beats per minute so it wasn’t allowing blood to go through the system,” he said.
“It took them three hours to get me from the forest to the hospital.”
He was eventually blue-lighted to Ninewells.
The following day, Danny underwent surgery to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) fitted in his chest.
This is a small, battery-powered device to monitor and regulate the heart’s rhythm.
Inside his chest are a total of four stents to accompany the defibrillator.
“That’s enough for the time being,” he joked.
“My heart is very very strong.
“I used to run marathons, have climbed Ben Nevis and cycled from London to Glasgow.
“Since the age of 20 I have done the normal things crazy people do to raise money for children.
“The problem is cholesterol.
“This gives me heart problems due to plaque blocking the main artery of the heart.”
Alive to see new mobility swing at Stirling park
Danny says he has raised around £100,000 for children’s charities in the past 50 years.
Just two months after the cardiac arrest he was at Causewayhead Park, Cambuskenneth, to see the installation of a wheelchair-compatible mobility swing that he helped raise £23,000 for.
And the near-death experience has inspired him to do even more fundraising, with Edinburgh Kiltwalk next up on Sunday September 15.
He is raising money for Strathcarron Hospice where Yvonne, 60, works and where her sister Elaine died in 2002 when she was 34.
His walking partner Malcolm Morgan also has personal ties with Strathcarron as his father James and friend Alasdair both died in the hospice.
“I am using my second chance to do more for people who don’t have another chance.,” said Danny, who has participated in more than 30 kiltwalks since 2012.
“We have raised £1,500 for the Edinburgh Kiltwalk and we want to get it to £2,000 by the time the event comes up.”
Marriage and kiltwalks feature in life after death
His reaction to almost dying hasn’t just been to double down on fundraising.
It was also to marry Yvonne, who he has known for 42 years and been partnered with for the past 10.
They tied the knot on August 17 this year at Stirling Registry Office, followed by a reception attended by 180 people at King Robert Hotel.
Danny said it was children Ross Davie, 36, and Emma McLean, 32, who put things into perspective.
“We got married because the kids told us to stop mucking about,” he said.
“They said I should make the most of my second chance.
“I have had prostate cancer, strokes, heart attacks.
“How many lives am I going to have? I never take it for granted.
“I accept it is not my time yet and I enjoy raising money and living life to the full.
“I know there’s nothing after death now.
“I am not taking anything away from people who have faith but there is nothing there.
“When you’re away you’re away. And I like that. I am happy with that.
“I was at peace for those seven minutes.
“I have less fear of death than before. It was just the fear of the unknown.
“It’s not unknown to me anymore.
“I am not scared of dying now.”
You can donate to Danny’s JustGiving kiltwalk fundraising page here and Malcolm’s here. Funds will go to Strathcarron Hospice, near Denny, which gives palliative care to more than 1,400 people each year.
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