Ah, ah, ah, ah - I saved my dad’s life with a little help from The Office and the Bee Gees

When my father collapsed suddenly, an episode of the US comedy in which Steve Carell does CPR to the tune of Stayin’ Alive sprung miraculously to mind

I

t was a boiling hot day last summer, four days after my dad’s 73rd birthday. Mum was plating up dinner and Dad was on the sofa complaining about how stifling it was. I was meant to head to work, for my job as a personal trainer, but decided to take the evening off. It was just as well: as I turned back to Mum, Dad collapsed backwards and suffered a massive cardiac arrest.

Mum was hysterical. She called the ambulance as I tried to stay calm but inside I felt mad with fear as she relayed what the 999 handler was saying. “Check if he’s breathing,” she told me. I put my hand on his chest but felt nothing. “Move him to the floor.” I laid him on the wood flooring.

The call handler told Mum to begin CPR. Dad was motionless as she pushed on his chest. I’d attended first-aid training years ago, while working at a bowling alley, but remembered nothing. Something seemed off, though – the timing wasn’t right. Then I remembered The Office.