‘The biggest shock was how bad my illness was and that 85% of my body was blood clots’
Matthew Allick, 42, began feeling unwell at the end of August 2023, battling shortness of breath and swollen feet. Now Matthew, who “died for 10 minutes” following a massive heart attack, has had an emotional reunion with the doctors who ‘brought him back to life’.
The father-of-two from Romford was swiftly rushed to hospital in an ambulance, where he collapsed after suffering a cardiac arrest triggered by a pulmonary embolism. The actor and care line officer was declared clinically dead for several minutes and spent three days in a coma, which he described as being like “a peaceful sleep”.
Now, over two years on, Matthew had the opportunity to return to Hammersmith Hospital and express his gratitude to the staff who saved his life. He revealed that it was an incredibly emotional day and the biggest shock was learning the severity of his illness, with doctors disclosing that 85 per cent of his body was blood clots.
Matthew said: “I got to meet the staff who essentially brought me back to life and gave me a new lease on life. When I first met the consultant, I hugged him and it was weird, but I realised these hands were the ones that helped me along my journey. It was very emotional.
“Seeing all the nurses and all the people who helped me even through the aftercare team, I didn’t think there were so many people involved. I really felt like a celebrity.
“They told me that 85 per cent of my body was filled with blood clots and they were huge. I was nearly brought to tears because I didn’t know I was that bad. Only five per cent of people survive what I have been through.”
After he “dropped dead” in 2023, medics used a defibrillator and administered CPR so forcefully that it resulted in internal bleeding. He was clinically dead for several minutes before doctors successfully resuscitated him and put him into an induced coma.
Tests showed he had blood clots the “size of a cricket ball” lodged in his heart and lungs, prompting surgeons to carry out multiple operations in a bid to clear them. During a tour of the hospital where these harrowing events unfolded, Matthew recalled how much of the ordeal remained vivid in his memory.
He met approximately 20 members of staff, including consultants, nurses, the aftercare team and the surgeon who extracted his clots.
Matthew added: “It was really overwhelming to see how many people were involved in saving my life and keeping me alive. The biggest takeaway was how hard the doctors and nurses work. I don’t think it is recognised enough that they actually do save lives.”
Matthew revealed that following his cardiac arrest, he endured a difficult year marked by a relationship breakdown, redundancy, money worries and his son facing a health scare. Nevertheless, he explained that knowing he had been brought back from the brink inspired him to remain optimistic, and his life has vastly improved since.
The father has since landed several acting gigs, including a role as a mental health professional alongside Steve McFadden in an EastEnders episode, and in the Postcode Lottery advert. He now also delivers motivational speeches and collaborates with the Blood Foundation to inspire people to donate blood, attributing his survival to seven life-saving blood transfusions.
Matthew said: “To be sad all the time after they brought me back to life would be doing them an injustice. I need to make the most of life because of them. My success story is really down to them.
“I was brought back to life for a reason. I use it as a motivation. Everything worked out for the best.
“And seeing the doctors motivated me even more to do well in life because they have given me a second chance. I can’t let them down because of the hard work that they put down.”
Dr Behrad Baharlo, a consultant in intensive care medicine and anaesthesia at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, who was part of the team that cared for Matthew back in 2023, said: “It was wonderful for us to meet Matthew again, to see him doing so well and sharing his story to inspire others to give blood. I remember him very well, caring for him when he was in intensive care at Hammersmith Hospital. It was very unusual and sad to see such a young man have a cardiac arrest.
“I remain so proud of how so many colleagues from different disciplines came together to help him – from our nurses and pharmacists to colleagues in interventional radiology and pulmonary hypertension. It was a huge team effort and a reminder of the power of the NHS.
“We rely on having good levels of blood stocks to treat people like Matthew. It’s brilliant that he’s now trying to help other patients by raising awareness of this.”
NHS Blood and Transplant’s Chief Nursing Officer, Dee Thiruchelvam, said: “Matthew’s story shows just how powerful blood donation can be. Thanks to the generosity of donors, he was able to receive the transfusions that saved his life and return home to his family. Every donation really does make a difference – it gives patients like Matthew a second chance at life.”