Benjamin’s story: “I went to my knees. Then it goes black.”

With his whole life ahead of him, 17-year-old Benjamin Culff collapsed during a sudden cardiac arrest.

While studying for his A-Levels, Ben was working part-time as a waiter in a restaurant in Tamworth, a village in Staffordshire, England. A regular gym-goer, he was fit and strong – but as he walked to collect some glasses in the restaurant, he suddenly felt unwell.

“My heart started pinging,” he says. “Something was going wrong. I started slouching up against the wall, then I dropped to the ground. After struggling for a bit, it was just… nothingness.”

Ben’s colleague Josh rushed to help him.

His voice shaking, Josh recalls what happened next.

“Ben was on the floor. He wasn’t moving. I thought he was dead. I’d seen him 20 minutes before. Up on his feet. Talking. Laughing. I thought we were too late. I thought there was nothing we could do.”

But Josh, who had no experience giving CPR, was guided over the phone by the NHS emergency operator to give the repeated compressions to Ben’s chest that would help keep blood flowing to his vital organs.

CPR and rapid defibrillation saved Ben’s life

Meanwhile, other colleagues had located their workplace’s defibrillator, the machine that could reset Ben’s heart to a normal rhythm with an electric shock. With every minute without defibrillation reducing his chances of survival by 10%, it was a lifeline.

There was just one problem.

No one knew how to use it.

“I was very, very nervous,” says Josh. “I asked around – was anybody trained? Nobody was.”

With help from the NHS operator, Josh applied the AED and it delivered a life-saving shock to Ben’s chest, lifting his body off the ground.

At first, there was no response and Josh began to fear the worst.

Then the machine delivered a second shock – and suddenly Ben began to regain consciousness.

His life had been saved.

“My story is testament to the fact that sudden cardiac arrest really can strike anyone, anywhere at any time,” says Ben.

“Thanks to the quick action of my courageous colleagues and the fact that there was an onsite defibrillator in my workplace, I was given a second chance.

“Since my cardiac arrest, I have dreamt of there being a defibrillator that could be easily used in homes and offices. It’s amazing to see that CellAED^® has realised those dreams.”

RELATED ARTICLE: Taking luck out of the survival equation

Ben was given another chance because he was fortunate to have access to a nearby defibrillator.

But most people who experience a sudden cardiac arrest do not get a second chance. In the UK today, 150 people die every day from sudden cardiac arrest. It can strike anyone, regardless of age or health status.

Survival rates are low – and many people don’t know how to help someone. They don’t know where their nearest defibrillator is located and often, they don’t know how to use it.

CellAED^®, developed by Rapid Response Revival^®, has been created to increase access to defibrillators and overcome barriers to their use. The world’s first personal defibrillator CellAED^® was designed for everyone, regardless of medical or first-aid experience, to make portable defibrillators affordable, accessible, effective, and easy-to-use in the event of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). CellAED^® not only delivers a life-saving shock, the voice instructions guide you through the whole process every step of the way.

Be prepared to save someone’s life with CellAED^®