Man's plea after CPR saved his life on court

A man who suffered a cardiac arrest during a basketball game said he wants more people to learn life-saving CPR.

Jack Taylor, 20, was playing with friends at a leisure centre in East Leake when he collapsed on the court in February 2024.

An off-duty British Red Cross first aid instructor, who happened to be at the leisure centre at the time, began CPR and used an on-site defibrillator while his friend called an ambulance, helping to save Taylor's life.

Taylor, who is still in recovery after spending more than a month in hospital and undergoing heart surgery, said if it was not for those who helped save his life on the court in 2024, "I probably wouldn't have made it".

According to Resuscitation Council UK (RCUK), an expert organisation on resuscitation, survival rates for cardiac arrests outside hospital "remain low", with one in 13 people surviving in the East Midlands.

The organisation said the statistic highlighted a need to improve confidence in CPR and using defibrillators in the region.

The teenager said he had been at the gym with friends earlier in the day and had a "pre-workout" energy drink before the basketball game.

"I had a good session and I was in a bit of a rush, I seemed to be in a rush all the day back then," he said.

"I remember playing really well, I was having a great session and I was quite happy with how I was playing.

"I got subbed off and as I was jogging over, I collapsed."

Taylor said it was initially believed he was having a seizure, until the first aider noticed his lips turning blue.

"At that point the alarms went off for him and he had to get a defibrillator, and my friend called an ambulance," he said.

Taylor was taken to hospital in Leicester, while his parents - from Arnold in Nottinghamshire - were taken to the hospital by police.

"The police came to take us, they thought Jack was going to die," his mother, Andrea Cox, said.

She added: "Obviously my stomach was tightened and I was [getting] a bit of cold sweats, but you just go into overdrive.

"It's like you're watching yourself, you're watching everything happen."

Taylor was eventually transferred to a hospital in London where it was initially thought he would need a transplant.

"Things worked out in a completely different way," his mother said.

After about 35 days in hospital, Taylor underwent heart surgery and was given a 50% chance of survival.

He was also fitted with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator - a small device which monitors the heart and uses electrical pulses to fix dangerous rhythms.

Taylor said his recovery was "slow and still ongoing" but said he felt "really lucky".

Since his surgery, Taylor said he had done his own research and worked with the British Heart Foundation to learn about heart conditions and understand the severity of his own.

He is now hoping more people consider learning how to administer CPR, calling it a "strong safety net".

On Monday, the RCUK will provide CPR training in Leicester city centre as part of a tour to help tackle what it called "inequalities" in cardiac arrest survival.

Adam Benson-Clarke, clinical director at RCUK, said: "Nobody's chance of surviving a cardiac arrest should depend on their postcode, ethnicity or background.

"Yet we know that access to lifesaving skills and knowledge is not equal."

The tour will allow people to practise CPR on a training mannequin and speak to experts in Jubilee Square between 13:30 and 16:00 BST on Monday.

Taylor said: "I just count myself lucky that, by chance, a first responder was there with me that day.

"If there wasn't anyone there who knew CPR I probably wouldn't have made it, I'm sad to say.

"More people learning CPR just helps everyone. Everyone's at risk no matter if you've got a heart condition or you haven't."

"I feel incredibly grateful to be here today and I want to do everything I can in this life to make the world a better place," he added.

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