Chris Rowell, a man who suffered a cardiac arrest while on the toilet in 2021, has completed the London Marathon to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
On January 3, 2021, Chris, a 52-year-old from Stalybridge, Tameside, was checking his phone on the toilet when his heart stopped. As he collapsed, he dropped his phone to the ground, alerting his partner, Becka.
Becka rushed upstairs to find Chris unresponsive and immediately called 999. Their neighbor, a nurse, also came to help and together they performed CPR on Chris for 20 minutes before he was taken to the hospital.
Chris was in a coma for three days after the cardiac arrest. However, thanks to the quick actions of Becka and his neighbor, he made a remarkable recovery. Three months after his cardiac arrest, Chris did a treadmill test and was given the all-clear to start running.
Determined to give back to the BHF, Chris decided to run the London Marathon. He had previously run the marathon in 2011 and the Manchester Marathon in 2012. Despite being nervous about raising his heart rate after his cardiac arrest, he started training in January 2024.
On race day, Chris was cheered on by Becka, their 20-month-old son, Hugo, and his two older sons, Sam, 18, and Lewis, 22. He finished the gruelling 26.2-mile course in 4 hours, 53 minutes, and 56 seconds, raising an incredible £2,500 for the BHF.
Chris’s story is an inspiration to us all. It shows that even after a life-changing event like a cardiac arrest, it is possible to bounce back and achieve great things.
The BHF is a charity that funds research into heart and circulatory diseases. Thanks to the support of people like Chris, the BHF has been able to make great strides in the fight against these diseases. If you would like to donate to the BHF, please visit their website: www.bhf.org.uk.
