Runner thanks paramedics who saved him from hyperthermia

Jamie Williams, who has run the race twice before, was just 400 metres from finishing with a personal best time last October when he collapsed.

Thankfully, paramedic David Gardener and emergency care assistant Chris Addoo were on hand to rush the Waterlooville runner to Queen Alexandra Hospital.

The 38-year-old said: ‘I wanted to say thank you.

‘I’m very grateful to everyone who looked after me - these guys, everyone at Queen Alexandra Hospital, and my wife for running 400m of the Great South Run the wrong way to help.’

Paramedic Steve remembers his prognosis for Jamie was bleak.

He said: ‘My clinical decision on the day was that he may go off from me on the way up - in short, he might have died.’

Jamie was rushed into the hospital’s Accident and Emergency Department, where he was surrounded by ice packs as his temperature reached more than 40 degrees.

The acute hyperthermia was so severe he became delirious, believing he was ‘making snow angels up a mountain.’

It took an induced coma of 26 hours to stabilize Jamie’s temperature, but he was more concerned about his condition scaring his daughters - aged eight and five.

The father of two said: ‘The intensive care people were amazing.

‘I wanted to see my daughters but I didn’t want them to see me surrounded by the medical equipment - I was on a drip, I was on oxygen.

‘So for a short while they took the equipment.

‘I had a graze on my knee, and I told my daughters that’s why I was in hospital.

‘They don't know anything about what happened.’

Paramedics Steven and Chris were grateful that Jamie had returned to let them know he has made a full recovery - as they only ‘get the odd thank you letter’ from former patients.

Paramedic Chris: ‘It’s nice for to know, so we can have closure.

‘We often don’t know what happened after we’ve left patients.’

Jamie has had to adapt to one change after the incident.

He added: ‘My wife has banned me from running.’