Medics drag miracle dad, 54, back from the dead after he has heart attack at footie….then has another TWENTY SIX attacks
Ray Woodhall says he owes his life to 'brilliant' hospital staff — and mystery spectator who called 999
A TEAM of medics performed a series of lifesaving miracles on a dad of three after he “died” an astonishing 27 times in 24 hours.
Ray Woodhall, 54, suffered a heart attack playing “walking football” — then had 26 more in hospital.
But the miracle man, from Wednesbury, West Midlands, pulled through and is now recovering from his ordeal.
The stricken dad’s family were warned to expect the worst when he suffered multiple heart attacks after a football match.
But he managed to pull through and is now recovering — to the astonishment of his lifesavers.
Ray, who was yesterday reunited with his heroes, told The Sun last night: “They told me they’ve never heard of anyone ‘dying’ so many times and the only reason I’m here is because of them.
“The hospital was brilliant and I owe them everything.
“Now I just want to get back playing football again.”
Ray had been playing for Hartshill Strollers in an over-50s “walking football” tournament on December 17 when he felt a slight chest pain.
The dad of three thought he was dehydrated so carried on playing until he collapsed seconds later attempting a tackle.
He was helped off the pitch and started walking groggily to his car at around 1pm.
However, a mystery spectator, who happened to be an off-duty male nurse, insisted on calling 999.
Ray, from Wednesbury, West Mids, said: “He kept saying I needed to be looked at.
“He called 999 and an ambulance turned up. I don’t know who the bloke was — all I know was his first name, Brad.”
The crash team came in and told my partner, Jo, to get out... As she left the room, she watched me die
Paramedics told Ray he had suffered a heart attack at the tournament in Kidderminster, Worcs.
He was given morphine, strapped to a stretcher in his kit and rushed 15 miles to A&E at Worcestershire Royal Hospital where a top cardiology team was mobilised.
Ray recalled: “When we arrived it all went a bit vague. I was taken down the corridor into a cubicle and that’s where I had two more heart attacks.
“They took me into theatre and put two stents into my artery through my right wrist.
How they saved him
DOCS say Ray’s survival was down to two key factors — early treatment and expert care.
A fan at his football match called 999, and Ray was taken straight to theatre for a coronary angioplasty.
Ray, who was awake throughout, was given a local anaesthetic before a drip was fitted.
Surgeons inserted a tube through his wrist, followed by a catheter.
A wire was then fed inside to the blocked part of Ray’s artery.
A small balloon holding a wire mesh stent was passed over the top of the catheter.
Docs inflated it, squashing fatty deposits and widening the artery, before deflating and removing.
The stent was left inside to help keep the artery open.
When Ray kept having more attacks, dye was injected into his blood so an X-ray could highlight the flow.
Docs operated again, this time inserting the balloon through Ray’s thigh before his heart eventually stabilised.
“I kept falling asleep and waking again and apologising for dropping off. I remember the cardiologist looked a bit worried each time I said it.
“He told me, ‘You’ve not been sleeping — you just had another heart attack’.”
By 9pm Ray’s family were told to go home and rest but two hours later medics rang them to say he had suffered another series of cardiac arrests and “might not make it through the night”.
His partner, Jo Stokes, 50, his sister Jayne, 49, and brother Robert, 51, rushed back to his bedside.
They were quickly joined by his children Martin, 33, Gary, 30, and Samantha, 22.
Ray’s hospital team, led by top cardiologists Dr Deepak Goyal and Dr David Smith, also returned.
Ray was then back in theatre for a coronary angioplasty just before midnight.
This time a balloon was inserted via his right thigh as doctors tried to improve the blood flow to his heart.
His relatives were also warned he might have brain damage if he survived due to a lack of oxygen because his heart had stopped so often.
As the night wore on, Ray suffered yet more heart attacks — with a 27th at 1pm the next day, almost exactly 24 hours after his first.
Ray recalled: “I was sitting up in bed holding Jo’s hand when the machines I was hooked up to started going off.
"The crash team came in and Jo was told to get out.
"Jo’s told me since that as she left the room, she watched me die.
"It’s been awful for her, my kids and my family, far worse than for me as I was out of it for most of the time.
“They’ve had to deal with it all the way through.”
Ray said he recalls little about coming round for the 27th time but added: “The thing I do remember was the nurse apologising to me.
24-hour horror
RAY’S nightmare 24 hours began during a “walking football” tournament on December 17.
1pm: Ray feels a slight pain in the chest but ignores it. He collapses soon after. An off-duty nurse calls 999. When paramedics arrive they tell Ray he has had a heart attack — the first of many.
2pm: He arrives at Worcestershire Royal Hospital after a 15-minure ambulance dash.
2pm-3pm: Ray’s second and third cardiac arrests take place as medics battle to save him.
4pm-9pm: He is thought to have suffered around ten more heart attacks despite stents being fitted.
11pm-noon: Ray has a further four cardiac arrests before medics operate for a second time. Ray is then thought to have suffered at least another nine attacks.
1pm: Ray survives his 27th and final cardiac arrest — 24 hours after his first.
“I said, ‘Why are you saying sorry?’ She said, ‘Because I’ve been punching your chest for the last few minutes really quite hard’. I said, ‘Don’t apologise. You’ve just saved my life again’.”
Ray then spent the next few days recovering, with nurses watching him round-the-clock.
He said: “As I started to get a bit better, one of them, Janet, said to me, ‘I can’t believe you! The most heart attacks I’ve ever seen is seven - and you’ve had 27!’ Dr Goyal has also told me I’m the talk of his friends.”
Ray, who works for a soft drinks firm, admitted he was initially frightened to nod off after his ordeal.
He said: “It’s because every time I fell asleep I had a heart attack. There were no bright white lights or visions.”
But he was discharged before Christmas and can now manages one-hour walks each day along a canal near his home. His only physical scars are two nicks the size of a pinhead on his wrist and thigh.
Ray said: “Everyone keeps asking to see my scars, thinking I’ve had major heart surgery. They’re a bit disappointed when they see them.”
Ray, who had no history of cardiac problems, takes nine tablets a day and has lost 20 per cent of his heart’s function.
But the Aston Villa fan is determined to get back on the pitch.
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He said: “I’ve been playing football since I was seven. Apparently there’s a bloke who had a triple-bypass who’s playing for Hartshill so there’s hope yet.”
He also met up again with Dr Goyal, who said: “We were able to help Mr Woodhall because he presented so quickly.
“Without a local service, he may not have survived.”
Ray now desperately wants to find off-duty nurse Brad.
He said: “One of the reasons I survived is they managed to get the stents in so quickly. If Brad hadn’t rung 999, that wouldn’t have happened.
“I’d love to find him just so I can say thank you I’m still here today.”
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