Cancer patient saves paramedic

A terminal cancer patient has saved the life of a paramedic who suffered a heart attack while driving to a hospital in Lille.

The 60-year-old Frenchman, Christian Nayet, took hold of the wheel of the ambulance after its driver, Jean-Francois Pina, began to complain of a tingling sensation in his fingers.

Diverting the ambulance to another hospital in Lens, Mr Nayet also administered a blood-thinning drug and a drug to stabilise the driver’s heartbeat.

‘I said, “Give me your keys, trust me. My life isn’t in danger and yours is,”’ Mr Nayet told the Voix du Nord regional newspaper.

An emergency room manger, Frederic Allienne, said that Mr Nayet drove straight into the area reserved for ambulances, and within 10 minutes Mr Pina was being operated on.

Mr Allienne added that without the assistance of Mr Nayet, the driver could have died.

When questioned on the bravery of his action, Mr Nayet told the Voix du Nord: ‘I made a human gesture, without thinking, not a gesture of courage.’

Taken from Journal of Paramedic Practice, published 25 April 2013.