Man had 'death hanging over his shoulder' after huge heart attack on Caribbean honeymoon
It should've been the happiest time in their lives. Peter Franklin had just said 'I do' and tied the knot with wife Kim, and the pair headed off on their honeymoon to the Caribbean.
But just 24 hours after touching down on the Dominican Republic last August, Peter, then-52, was desperately fighting for his life in hospital.
The support worker, from Fleetwood, had planned the dream honeymoon with Kim to celebrate the big day, but instead had a sudden heart attack that developed into a horrific four-hour episode.
He was then taken by ambulance to a hospital more than three hours away, leaving his new bride Kim alone in a foreign country desperately waiting for news.
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Looking back he says he has no idea how he survived the traumatic experience, which saw him urgently flown home on a repatriation plane.
"Due to the location we were in, I was having the heart attack for four hours before I got to a hospital. I honestly don't know how I survived," he explained.
"I was taken in an ambulance from one hospital to another hospital 300 kilometres away, so it was 36 hours before I had an operation to have stents put in."
Doctors had discovered that only one of Peter’s arteries was still functioning which needed specialist treatment.
"It was terrifying"
After landing in Manchester two weeks later, Peter then went straight to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. He spent three days there before suffering second heart attack.
"Luckily that one was nowhere near as bad as the first and it was dealt with straight away," he said. "But I was diagnosed with severe heart failure and told I would be on medication forever.
"It felt like I had death hanging over my shoulder, it was terrifying."
He later had a S-ICD (subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator) fitted. This means if his heart goes into Tachycardia, it will shock him. He also began exercising and working to live a healthier lifestyle after his experience.
Peter also developed Raynaud’s syndrome following his surgery, causing ongoing difficulties with circulation in his hands and feet.
Reflecting on his experience, Peter said: “The care I received throughout my journey was nothing short of incredible. The cardiology teams gave me a second chance at life, and I’ll never be able to thank them enough.
"I started to work out, slowly at first, but then I started increasing the weights that I was using, then the intensity and the duration, and then I decided to start running," he said.
"I started off running really short distances, but before I knew it, I was running 5k, and then one day I kept going and 10k's started becoming a thing.
"I increased my distance and then decided to sign up for the Fleetwood half marathon on 23 August which is two days before the first anniversary of my heart attack."
On 23 August, almost exactly one year after his heart attack, Peter will take on the Fleetwood Half Marathon and raise money for the Blue Skies NHS charity.
“Every mile represents the journey I’ve been on," he said "From fighting for my life in a hospital thousands of miles from home to standing on a start line with the chance to do something I never thought would be possible again”.
The fundraising will help support the Cardiology Unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital, giving back to the teams who helped him through it all.
James Holt