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Jun 14, 2023

'I was dying from heart attack in Aldi but owe my life to complete strangers'

Grandad Joe Peden was saved by a heroic Aldi store manager and A&E consultant

Grandad Joe Peden was saved by a heroic Aldi store manager and A&E consultant after he collapsed at a supermarket in Sale

A grandad who had a heart attack while shopping in Aldi has thanked strangers for saving his life.

Joe Peden, 61, from Sale, says he owes his life to supermarket's store manager and an off-duty A&E consultant for rescuing him.

The father-of-three collapsed by his trolley, prompting members of the public to raise the alarm.

That's when the store manager, who Joe only knows as Joe, came over and performed CPR on him for eight minutes as he lay on the floor by his trolley.

The A&E consultant, who is from Wythenshawe, then took over for four further minutes before he was chocked three times with the defibrilator.

The grandad-of-five remains in hospital and is hoping to get home soon.

He told the Manchester Evening News: "These people saved my life. Total strangers stepped forward and saved my life. I was exceptionally lucky.

"They stuck at it and did not give up on me. I was dead for 12 minutes, by all intents and purposes."

Paramedics and police were called to the Aldi store in School Road, Sale, at around 3pm on May 18.

A cordon was placed around the supermarket while Joe was treated.

Joe, who has a black belt in Jude, had a cardiac arrest and heart bypass at 56 and was put on a ventilator and in an induced coma.

He explained: "I am much better now than I was. For the first 10 days I was on a ventilator in here.

"I was unconscious and in an induced coma. I had the Sacrament of the Sick and they did not think that I was going to make it. It did not look good.

"Performing CPR is exhausting. Jason, the manager at Aldi, did CPR on me for eight minutes. In the store behind me there was a consultant in A&E from Wythenshawe. He took over for the last four minutes and followed me down in the ambulance.

"Then they got a defibrillator from the precinct and shocked me three times with it. I have no memory of even going to Aldi. For me, I woke up in hospital last Friday and that is about as much as I know.

"I now have a defibrillator inserted under my skin in my left shoulder. It is a defibrillator slash pacemaker. If it detects any irregular heart beats it will shock me.

"I was on my own in Aldi. I had gone to do some shopping and that was it. I had made it to the bottom of the first aisle and had Babybels and Petit Filous yoghurts for the grandchildren in my trolley, apparently.

"But I can't remember anything. All I can remember is being compos mentis last Friday in hospital. I was dead for 12 minutes by all intents and purposes. There was no bright light and no tunnel.

"Jason spoke to my wife. Apparently I just collapsed and went down in the store next to my trolley. I just went down in the aisle next to the shopping trolley.

"The people in Aldi were absolutely bloody amazing. I want to thank them all. I was just a passenger in all of this."

Joe wants to share his story to personally thank Jason the Aldi manager, the A&E consultant and everyone else who helped save his life.

"These people saved my life, " he said. "Total strangers stepped forward and saved my life. I was exceptionally lucky.

"They stuck at it and did not give up on me. They kept going, kept working, until someone got the defibrillator. All stores should have defibrillators . All big stores should have in-store defibrillators."

Joe, thanked the Aldi store manager, A&E consultant and those at at Wythenshawe Hospital for everything they have done.

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