Mother-of-three saves grandfather's life by singing 'Stayin' Alive' while giving him CPR on a bus

A grandfather who suffered a massive heart attack on a bus has told how he was saved by a Good Samaritan - who performed CPR on him while singing Bee Gees classic ‘Stayin’ Alive’.

Retired taxi boss Terry Holly, 67, slumped to the floor of the double-decker bus in front of horrified passengers as he headed home from seeing his ex-wife.

Sharon Thorneywork realised the father-of-three’s heart had failed and remembered a TV advert telling viewers to administer CPR by pumping the chest in time to the Bee Gees’ song.

Terry Holly's life was saved by Sharon Thorneywork when he had a heart attack on a bus in Birmingham. Ms Thorneywork performed CPR for 18 minutes until paramedics arrived

In the British Heart Foundation commercial, football hard-man Vinnie Jones demonstrates proper heart massage technique - keeping the correct rhythm by singing the 70s classic.

Administration officer Ms Thorneywork, who works at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, pumped Mr Holly’s heart for a staggering 18 minutes until paramedics arrived - singing the words to the song as she did so.

She was only on the 67 bus, bound from the Erdington area of Birmingham to the city centre, by chance, because one of her children was ill so she was running late.

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The mother-of-three, 42, was sitting in front of Mr Holly on the bus when she noticed him fall over.

She said: ‘We came up to a bus stop and in the corner of my eye I saw Terry fall.

‘I thought he had just lost his balance but I turned around and he was lying with his back to me in the foot well of the seats behind.

Ms Thorneywork sprang into action when she noticed Mr Holly slump into the foot well behind her seat and start to turn blue

‘I asked him “are you alright” and “can you hear me” but he was going quite blue and he wasn’t breathing properly.

‘I turned him over and began feeling for his pulse, but I couldn’t find one and he was getting more and more blue.

‘At that point I started pumping his chest, I knew how to do CPR from being in St John’s Ambulance when I was younger but it was the Bee Gees that helped me keep the rhythm.

‘I was singing “Stayin’ Alive” in my head the whole time to keep the rhythm going.

‘In a situation like that I think you go into auto-pilot, I wasn’t aware of what was going on around me, I just knew how to do chest compressions and was singing the Bee Gees to myself.

She knew how to perform hands-only CPR in time to the Bee Gees' classic, 'Stayin' Alive', because she had seen the British Heart Foundation's advertisement featuring Vinnie Jones (pictured)

‘The whole thing lasted 18 minutes, including the time the paramedics were I know because I checked the clock.

‘One paramedic who was first on the scene asked me to carry on chest compressions when he arrived while he performed checks.

‘I even helped them carry Terry out of the bus.’

Mr Holly, from Bristol, had been to visit his ex-wife who he is still friends with, in Birmingham on February 25 when he collapsed on the way home.

She sang the song out loud as she performed CPR and says that she just went into 'auto-pilot' and was not aware of what was going on around her

Yesterday he was reunited with Ms Thorneywork, along with two paramedics who helped save his life.

He said: ‘I don’t remember too much of the actual incident, everything up to getting on the bus is a bit of a blur.

‘But when people told me that a woman had saved my life by following the instructions in a TV advert I was stunned.

Mr Holly has thanked Ms Thorneywork, and the paramedics, for saving his life

‘Apparently she was singing along to “Stayin’ Alive” as she pumped my chest.

‘It must have been an odd sight but it saved my life and I will always be very grateful to her.

‘I understand Sharon was pumping my heart for 18 minutes - so it must have been the extended remix going around her head.

‘The remarkable thing is Sharon doesn’t usually get that bus, she was only on it that day because her child was ill and she was running late.

‘I’m like the cat with nine lives, I feel so lucky.

‘I can’t thank her enough, I think she should sing it from the rooftops.’

Doireann Maddock, Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘We know hands-only CPR has saved lives in supermarkets, pubs and on golf courses, but this is the first time we know of that it’s made a life-saving difference on public transport.

‘Sharon did exactly the right thing and kept pushing hard and fast to the beat of “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees until professional help arrived.

‘It’s vitally important you keep up chest compressions until paramedics get to the scene - no matter how long that might be.

‘Sharon is one of more than 35 people who has given hands-only CPR a go and helped save a life. No matter where you are, it can be the difference between life and death for anyone in cardiac arrest.’