Fit and healthy mum put in a coma after collapse at Pink Floyd tribute show

A fit and healthy mum who collapsed at a gig was placed in an induced coma for five days and defied all the odds to pull through. Esther Baker, 52, was listening to a Pink Floyd tribute band when she felt nauseous and went into cardiac arrest.

The mum-of-five, who lives in Trewoon on the outskirts of St Austell, was looking forward to the Plymouth Pavilions event, being a keen musician herself. But little did she know that night would change her life.

She believes it was thanks to a stranger, working for the medical team during the event, that she is alive today, saying: "I realise now just how fortunate I was to survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest."

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"I cycle to work on most days and would consider myself to be a relatively fit person," the musician and community pastor said. "It was the end of the week, my husband David and I, along with my sister Rachel and brother-in-law Hamish, were at the Plymouth Pavilions to watch the Australian Pink Floyd tribute band.

"We had travelled over early as I had been rehearsing some musical pieces with my sister ready for the show that we were performing the following evening. My sister had purchased tickets for us as a surprise present. "

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She explained how, as everyone was settling down after the interval to enjoy the second half, she was sitting with her husband and felt a sudden wave of sickness. "I whispered in my husband’s ear that I was just going out for a bit of fresh air.

"As I left the main auditorium, I felt quite sick and dashed to the nearest toilet. To give you the short version, my condition quickly deteriorated, and I had a sudden cardiac arrest."

The team at Role 1 Medical Ltd, headed up by Peter Bickley, had been hired by Plymouth Pavilions to be the medical cover for that night. "He saved my life without question by doing immediate CPR and defibrillation to restart my heart," said Esther. "I was rushed to Derriford Hospital where I was put into an induced coma for five days.

"I was given an S-ICD (subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator). I got out of hospital on December 19 and spent quite a surreal Christmas with my family." She's been trying to raise awareness about the importance of CPR since.

"We as a whole family met with the events team a few months later to thank them personally for what they all did that night. We are forever grateful to Pete, Luke, Sam and Erin for everything they did. I would not be here if it weren't for them and the combined efforts of all the NHS medical teams on the front line and Derriford Hospital's Emergency Department and nurses that continued to care for me."

She said: "The ripple effects of one life saved are vast and I am passionate about encouraging folks to know CPR and be confident in using CPR and AEDs in the community. I have so much to be thankful for and with so much negative news about hospitals and ambulance waiting times I cannot praise them enough for what they did for me that day."

Her Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Tango In The Night, will also be headlining Cornwall Air Ambulance's Helifest this year to help the event raise money and as a way of saying thank you.

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