The man I owe my life to

A person lying prostrate after a sudden cardiac arrest, surrounded by others frantically trying to revive them. This is a scene that became very real to me when I collapsed on the pitch during an FA Cup quarter-final against Tottenham Hotspur four years ago, on 17 March 2012.

The medical staff who treated me that night were incredible and I will forever be indebted to them. But I also owe my life to Professor Frank Pantridge, the man who invented the portable defibrillator; a device that has helped save millions of lives across the world over the past 50 years.

It’s now half a century on from the first time Frank Pantridge’s portable defibrillator was used in an ambulance. So how did his invention come about and what is his legacy today?

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