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A 64-year-old runner is set to run the Cardiff Half Marathon to raise money for the British Heart Foundation – three years after he nearly lost his brother to a heart attack.
Phil Fiander, from Abercarn, has raised more than £500 for the charity so far, and ran the virtual Cardiff Half Marathon earlier this year.
On July 14, 2018, Phil’s brother Dave collapsed after suffering a heart attack. While Dave recovered and is now back working as a printer in Taunton, things could have been very different.
Phil said: “Dave is not a smoker, but has the occasional drink, plays golf and has been active all of his life. At the age of 57 we did not expect him to have a heart attack, and we are glad that he survived when many others don’t, so I wanted to raise some money for a very important cause.”
Dave and his wife Nicky came up from Taunton to spend time with Phil and his wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
They had been to Cardiff Bay and met up with friends for a meal and a couple of beers at an Indian restaurant, before going to the theatre to watch War Horse.
Phil said: “The show was great. We had a drink during the interval and chatted about the performance and the marvellous puppetry of the performance. Little did my bother know that within four hours that he would have very little recall of those events and what happened in the next three days. The show finished and we went back to our house in Abercarn, had a coffee and the day finished like every other day and we went to bed around about midnight.
“At about 2am I was woken by Nicky, Dave’s wife, saying that he was feeling unwell and would I take him to the hospital. When I asked what the matter was with him, he said he didn’t really know but he had never felt like this before. He didn’t show any of the common symptoms associated with a heart attack like sweating or pains in his chest or left arm. At that time I thought he genuinely had a touch of indigestion – I even gave him a Gaviscon.
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“Nicky was insistent that we took him to the hospital, which we did. Dave got himself to the car, sat in the front with me and was still feeling unwell, but was completely conscious. We hadn’t got half a mile down the road when the world came tumbling down. Dave collapsed in the passenger’s seat next to me.”
They immediately called 999 and were told to pull over and give Dave CPR.
Phil added: “Very quickly the ambulance services arrived and took over from us. They worked on him for 20-25 mins before they resuscitated him. They were brilliant and ultimately, they saved his life. Once stabilised, they took him straight to the hospital where he was stabilised further and had a stent fitted. He was put into ITU and at 7.30 Sunday morning that’s when we saw him next.”
Dave was put into a coma for three days and when he awoke had no recollection of what happened.
Phil continued: “[Dave] is recovering and is now back to work. There has been damage to his heart but with tablets and monitoring, he is getting stronger. This year he was able to give his eldest daughter away at her wedding and he spends real quality time with his grandson Theo.”
When Phil takes part in the Cardiff Half Marathon in aid of the British Heart Foundation in March, he is set to be joined by Dave, who is hoping to walk the distance.
Having completed the virtual Cardiff Half Marathon earlier this year, Phil thanked those who had sponsored him and said: “It was hard work and my legs were like jelly for the last two miles, but I did it.”
To donate to Phil’s fundraising page, visit justgiving.com/team/RunningwithDave
To find out more on how to fundraise for the British Heart Foundation, visit bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/fundraise
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