Matthew Allick, 42, from Romford, East London, was generally fit and healthy and so thought that his symptoms were just his body adjusting to a new night shift pattern he was working
A father who “died for ten minutes” after suffering a heart attack has described the experience as feeling like a “peaceful” sleep. Matthew Allick, 42, began feeling poorly at the end of August 2023 – battling breathlessness and swollen feet.
The father-of-two from Romford, Essex, was typically fit and well, so presumed his symptoms were simply his body adapting to a new night shift rota he was working. However, when Matthew found it difficult to climb a single step at his workplace, a colleague rang for an ambulance.
Soon after reaching hospital, the then 40-year-old actor and care line worker collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest triggered by a pulmonary embolism.
Considered clinically dead for several minutes
He was considered clinically dead for several minutes. When Matthew regained consciousness after three days in a coma, he couldn’t recall anything – but described it as feeling like he had woken from “a peaceful sleep”.
Now, he is telling his story to highlight the significance of blood donation – which he believes saved his life. Matthew explained: “It was the end of August back in 2023 and I started noticing I had swollen feet.
“They would swell up and then go down the next day, so I ignored it. I put it down to doing night shifts at work, thinking I wasn’t moving enough.
“But then I started getting out of breath doing simple tasks, like, if I stood up too quickly, it felt like I had just done a sprint. It never lasted long though and I considered myself fit and healthy – someone who went to the gym a few times a week and ate well – so I just thought it would go away.
“But one Saturday I was at work and a friend said, ‘Let’s go look at the new coffee machine upstairs. I remember I went to take one step and I thought, ‘I can’t climb these stairs.'”.
“I said to my friend, ‘You need to call an ambulance’. At the time, I wasn’t in pain. But I knew something was wrong.”
It started as an ‘irregular heartbeat’
Paramedics turned up within five minutes and determined Matthew had an irregular heartbeat. They explained that it was probably nothing serious but transported him to Hammersmith Hospital as a precaution.
Upon arrival, a doctor asked Michael to rate his pain on a scale of one to ten. He said: “I told him that it had been a zero before but suddenly it was an eleven out of ten.
“He said that it couldn’t be an eleven, and I said, ‘Now it’s a thirteen.’ And then I dropped dead. I had no pulse, no heartbeat. Nothing.”
Medical staff used a defibrillator and administered CPR so forceful that it caused internal bleeding. He was deemed clinically dead for several minutes before doctors revived him and put him into a coma.
Scans showed he had blood clots the “size of a cricket ball” on his heart and lungs and so surgeons carried out several procedures in an attempt to remove them. This involved using a catheter to “cut away at the clots” and multiple blood transfusions, which Matthew credits with saving his life.
His family were told that if he ever regained consciousness, he might be brain dead – due to the prolonged period his brain was starved of oxygen. However, when Matthew came round he was completely alert, with only his memory affected.
‘It felt like I had been sleeping’
He said: “I don’t remember anything from when I was dead. But what I do remember is coming out of the coma and it felt like I had been sleeping. Everything was peaceful. It felt like a peaceful sleep.”
When Matthew initially awakened, he feared he was paralysed as he couldn’t move his body. However, sensation in his toes and fingers gradually began to return.
At first, Matthew also battled with memory issues – struggling to recall people’s names correctly and even identify different colours. But with time he made a full recovery.
“I slowly started to return to normal,” Matthew said. “At first, I could recognise faces but couldn’t get people’s names, and I remember I couldn’t recognise colours.
“My brother brought me an orange, and I said, what colour is that? But my brother spent time with me getting me to recite movie quotes to regain my memory.
“I also had to re-learn to sit up, how to walk, how to control my urine. It was a crazy journey.”
Matthew described it as “a huge shock” when he discovered he had suffered a heart attack – and that medics remain baffled as to why it occurred. He said: “I actually passed out when I learnt I had a heart attack. It was a huge shock.
“It just didn’t make sense. It felt like a lie. I kept thinking, ‘How could that happen to me?'”.
“I was young, I wasn’t obese, I never smoked, I wasn’t an alcoholic. I’m actually still under investigation as the doctors don’t know why it happened.”
The ‘miracle man’
Matthew revealed that whilst he was recuperating in hospital, medics dubbed him “a miracle man” – due to how astonishing it was for him to survive what he endured. He said: “When I was around the hospital a lot of doctors and nurses would point at me and say, ‘There he is’, coming up to me and saying I’m a miracle man.
“I was told only five per cent of people survive what I’ve been through. It was all incredibly rare.”
Matthew subsequently discovered how vital blood transfusions were to preserving his life and now wishes to highlight the significance of donating blood – particularly amongst Black heritage communities. According to NHS Blood and Transplant, as a Black heritage patient requiring multiple blood transfusions, Matthew’s recovery prospects would be enhanced by receiving matched blood from Black heritage donors.
A spokesperson said: “Although the blood used to treat Matthew came from a range of donors of different ethnicities, the need for more Black heritage donors to come forward to provide ethnically matched blood is well established. “.
Matthew added: “Without blood transfusions I wouldn’t be here today. We often don’t realise how critical blood donation is until we’re on the receiving end.
“Someone’s decision to give blood saved my life. That’s what I want more people to realise. I really want to raise awareness for blood donation – especially among the black community.”
Matthew says he is “75 per cent back to normal” now but has good days and bad days. He said: “Sometimes I have chest pains and find that my feet swell up, and I think, ‘Oh no, it’s happening again.'”.
“But the great thing about Hammersmith Hospital is they’ve said to me to always come in if I’m worried, and they’ll see me straight away. On my good days I’m just living normal life. I’d say I’m 75 per cent of what I used to be – I’ll never be completely back to normal as I’ll be on blood thinners for the rest of my life.
“But I’m just so grateful to everyone who supported me and came to see me in hospital every day and encourage me. My friends, my family, my kids, and my fiancée at the time all really showed up for me.
“At one point I remember doctors saying there were too many people in the room. It just really made me realise how lucky I am to be alive.”
Donating blood is swift, straightforward, and only requires around an hour of your time. To become a blood donor, download the NHSBT app, visit: Blood.co.uk, or call: 0300 123 23 23.
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