A Virgin Media O2 engineer has been praised for helping to save a customer’s life after a routine broadband appointment in Leeds suddenly became a medical emergency. Stephen Parsonage was helping the customer set up their services when he noticed that their speech had become slurred, one of the main warning signs of a stroke.
Stephen immediately called 999. When it became clear that an ambulance wouldn’t be able to reach the home promptly, he drove the customer to St James’s University Hospital himself so they could receive treatment as quickly as possible, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
He also contacted the customer’s family, explained what had happened and helped make sure their younger child was looked after. The customer is now stable and recovering at home, while their family has said it is enormously grateful for Stephen’s quick thinking.
Image credit: St James University Hospital
St James University Hospital in Leeds, where Stephen Parsonage personally drove the unwell customer
Recognising one symptom was enough to act
Slurred speech is one of the three principal stroke symptoms covered by the NHS’s FAST guidance. The others are facial weakness and difficulty raising both arms. You don’t need to see all three before treating the situation as an emergency. Any one of them is enough to call 999 immediately.
Speed matters because a stroke interrupts the blood supply to part of the brain. NHS England estimates that someone experiencing a stroke can lose around two million brain cells every minute, making early recognition and access to specialist treatment crucial to survival and recovery.
Will Houldsworth, Virgin Media O2’s Director of Retail and Field Sales, told the Yorkshire Evening Post that Stephen had remained calm and acted decisively during a highly distressing situation. He said the company was incredibly proud of the support Stephen had given both the customer and their family.
