A SCOTS mum who almost died when she had a heart attack on holiday recovered and flew home just in time to watch her daughter walk down the aisle.
Charmaine Kennedy, 49, was in Lanzarote, Spain, with her partner, Michael Young, 62, a retired train driver, in April 2024 for a seven day break.
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But two days before the pair were due to fly home to Glasgow, on April 25, Charmaine felt a ‘dull ache’ in her back after spending the day by the pool.
She had an early night and woke up the next day feeling fine until around 5pm when the pain came back and spread to her shoulder and jaw.
Charmaine said the pain was so ‘intense’ and she got a taxi to the medical centre in Playa Blanca.
After she was examined, Charmaine was transported to The Jose Molina Orosa Hospital – where she was told she was having a heart attack and had emergency surgery to repair her blocked arteries.
After six days in hospital, Charmaine was discharged and she and Michael headed back home – arriving the day before their daughter, Nicola Griffin, 29, tied the knot with her partner, David, 30, on May 4.
Charmaine, a travel agent, from Glasgow, said: “When I got to hospital I remember my sundress being cut open and my shoes being taken off.
“The last thing I remember before passing out was hearing my lovely partner’s voice.
“He was shouting into the ambulance trying to calm me down, telling me that everything would be OK and that he would be waiting for me at the hospital.
“We made it home just in time to watch our daughter get married – it was a surreal experience.”
In April this year, Charmaine and her partner, Michael, flew to Lanzarote for seven day holiday.
Two days before they were due to fly home to the UK Charmaine felt a dull pain in her back but put it down to the fact she had been swimming all day.
She said: “I went to bed around 7pm, I tried to rest and had around 12 hours sleep.
“When I woke up the next day, I felt better – we had a late breakfast and relaxed.
“Around 5pm the pain came back, it started in my back, went to my shoulder and then spread to my jaw.”
As the pain worsened, Charmaine and Michael got a taxi to the local medical centre where they had to show their passport and GHIC card – UK Global Health Insurance Card – before they were blue-lighted to hospital.
Once they arrived at The Jose Molina Orosa Hospital, Charmaine said she was ‘in and out of consciousness’.
Symptoms of a heart attack:
- chest pain – a feeling of pressure, heaviness, tightness or squeezing across your chest
- pain in other parts of the body – it can feel as if the pain is spreading from your chest to your arms (usually the left arm, but it can affect both arms), jaw, neck, back and tummy
- feeling lightheaded or dizzy
- sweating
- shortness of breath
- feeling sick (nausea) or being sick (vomiting)
- an overwhelming feeling of anxiety (similar to a panic attack)
- coughing or wheezing
The chest pain is often severe, but some people may only experience minor pain, similar to indigestion.
While the most common symptom is chest pain, symptoms can vary from person to person.
Some people may have other symptoms such as shortness of breath, feeling or being sick and back or jaw pain without any chest pain.
Source: NHS
She said: “I remember panicking when I was told I had a heart attack, I felt like there were a lot of people doing work on me and nobody was speaking to me.
“We were moving through corridors and all I could think was how Michael would find me.
“Michael wasn’t allowed in the ambulance with me as he wasn’t insured to be in the ambulance.
“Before I knew what was happening I was on the operating table. I remember the intense pain but I also remember someone holding my hand.”
Charmaine had an emergency operation to repair the blocked arteries and add stents.
After the procedure, Charmaine spent two days in intensive care and four days on a ward before she was able to be discharged.
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Charmaine said: “A student doctor came to see me and explain what happened to me – she said I was lucky to be alive.
“She also said that my other artery is narrow and I would need to have that assessed when I got home.
“She said that I was extra lucky as the hospital had just been given the life-saving stent machine and if this had happened any earlier I would have flown by helicopter to another hospital.”
Charmaine was told she was fit to fly seven days after she was due to fly home on May 2, 2024.
Charmaine said: “All of our kids offered to fly over and help even though they all have families of their own and one of them was due to be married.
“I will never forget the love and support I felt from all my family and friends and for the help they gave me.”
Charmaine and Michael arrived back in Glasgow at 1am on May 3, the day before they were set to walk their daughter down the aisle on May 4.
Charmaine said: “We managed to get back in time to watch our daughter get married.
“We were able to walk her down the aisle.
“It was an amazing day but I didn’t last all day as I am still recovering.
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“It is all still raw for me.
“It isn’t going to stop me travelling but it has made me more aware and made sure I know what hospitals are where when I am on holiday.”