A Perthshire man owes his life to quick-thinking workmates after suffering a heart attack.
Geordie McNaughton’s heart stopped after he collapsed on a Perth building site but Kilmac colleagues sprang into action, giving him CPR and buying valuable time until paramedics arrived on the scene.
The 41-year-old from Stanley has been signed off work until next month and has been told to take it easy. However, five weeks after his death-defying experience at the Fair City’s new £8 million Tulloch Primary School project, he seized an opportunity to thank the men who saved his life.
Mr McNaughton, who has been with the Perth-based construction company for two years, has no recollection of the December incident. Christmas and the previous three months have been wiped from his memory.
However, nurses told their patient he had been christened “our Christmas miracle” by staff at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee.
“I’ve got no memory of what happened but I know I’m lucky to be alive,” he said.
“Apparently I was complaining of chest pains the weekend before. The heart attack was on December 21 and the next thing I knew it was December 28 and I was waking up in intensive care at Ninewells wondering what I was doing there.”
Kilmac’s site foreman Neil Riley and manager Jason Edward recalled their workmate saying he felt dizzy, before he collapsed.
Mr Riley, 44, of Perth, said: “Geordie said he was feeling dizzy and went down on his hands and knees. We were in a bit of shock ourselves but the training kicked in.”
And Mr Edward, 30, of Dundee, added: “I put him in recovery position but the colour had drained from his face and Neil said Geordie had stopped breathing. So he turned him over and Neil started CPR.
“The paramedics were concerned with a lack of oxygen getting to the brain. So it was a huge relief when we heard over the festive break that Geordie had come round and he was in good shape.”
Contracts manager James Wilson, of Methil, praised his team members.
He commented: “Kilmac managers and foremen all go through three-day first aid courses.
“This shows the importance of the training we provide. Full marks to the lads for carrying out what they learned when they faced an emergency.
“I take my hat off to Jason and Neil because it looked second nature to them.”
Mr McNaughton has another scan scheduled and is receiving physiotherapy at Perth Royal Infirmary. He’s under strict instructions to rethink his lifestyle.
“I don’t carry much weight and that helped me pull through but I’ve been smoking up to 40 a day since I was a kid and have been known to wolf eight burgers at a single sitting,” he added.
“Then there were the huge fry-ups. But they’re all a thing of the past.
“My arteries paid the price. I could really do with a bacon roll but I’ve been lucky and this was a warning shot.
“Very few people come through this sort of thing unscathed.
“I know that if it wasn’t for Neil and Jason I wouldn’t be here. I owe my life to them and will be forever grateful.”
