Three Years On: My Return to Rugby, the Night Kitty Saved My Life, and What CPR and My S-ICD and Me Have Taught Me

It's been three years since the night that changed everything.

In the early hours of 13 August 2023, my heart simply stopped. I was 21, playing rugby and in the best shape of my career. None of that mattered in that moment. If my girlfriend Kitty hadn't woken up, recognised what was happening and started CPR, I wouldn't be here to write this.

Three years on, I'm back playing the sport I love. I'm living with an S-ICD fitted to protect my heart. And Kitty and I have built something we never planned for: a community called My S-ICD and Me. It was born out of that night, and it's taught us more about CPR, about preventative health and about each other than we ever expected.

This is our story.

The night everything changed

We'd been out at the pub celebrating some of my mates moving to London. The last thing I remember is being in a pub in Wimbledon with a bunch of Wrexham fans. My next memory is from about a week and a half later.

Everything in between, I've had to piece together through Kitty, my family and the doctors.

I've been told that my heart suddenly stopped while I was asleep. I'd gone into cardiac arrest, and Kitty immediately called 999 and performed CPR on me until the paramedics arrived. I was taken to hospital and placed into a medically induced coma. There's a whole period of my life where so much was happening around me, and I have no memory of any of it.

While I was in the coma, my family and Kitty sat beside me, talked to me and played my favourite music, hoping that somehow I could hear them. Kitty even left her childhood teddy with me. She said it felt like a little part of her was always there, watching over me and keeping me safe.

When I woke up, the ICU nurses told my family there must have been a whole host of angels in the room looking over me, because the fact that I'd woken up at all was a miracle.

It's surreal hearing about such a huge, life-changing part of your own story when you can't remember it. One of the hardest things for me to comprehend is everything Kitty went through while I was unconscious. I'm incredibly lucky that she was there, that she knew what to do and that she acted so quickly. I'll never be able to put into words how grateful I am, because ultimately, she saved my life.

The question nobody could answer

The doctors explained just how serious the cardiac arrest had been. Then came the question everyone wanted answered: why had this happened to a fit and healthy 21-year-old?

Despite countless tests, there was no clear diagnosis. To this day, we still don't know why it happened.

I was fitted with an S-ICD (subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator) to protect me if it ever happens again. Suddenly having a heart device at 21 was a lot to take in, but after everything I'd survived, I knew how lucky I was to be here.

Kitty side of the story:

I woke up because Morgan's breathing sounded completely different, and I immediately knew something wasn't right. At the time I had no idea what I was hearing, but we later learnt it was the beginning of his cardiac arrest. When I realised he wasn't responding to me, everything changed in a matter of seconds.

It's difficult to describe that feeling. You never imagine the person you love could be lying next to you one moment and fighting for their life the next. I was completely terrified, but an instinct kicked in. I knew I had to do something. His life was quite literally in my hands.

I called 999 immediately and started CPR while I waited for the paramedics. I'd done CPR training at Oxford Brookes University as lacrosse captain, but I never imagined for a second that I'd actually have to use it, least of all on Morgan. I performed CPR for around seven minutes, and everything else just disappeared. I was completely focused on keeping him alive until help arrived.

In that moment I was in fight mode. I don't think I had the capacity to process what was happening. I was running on adrenaline with one thought in my head: Morgan has to survive.

When the paramedics took over, I was taken out of the room, and that's when the reality hit me. I was downstairs, listening to them defibrillating Morgan above me. They kept coming out to tell me they still didn't have a response or a heartbeat. I remember crying and saying, "I don't understand, he has to wake up." I felt completely helpless.

Then I had to call his parents and say words I couldn't even comprehend myself. How do you tell someone their son has no heartbeat and isn't breathing? It didn't feel real.

Even once Morgan had a pulse again, we didn't know he was going to be okay. He was put into an induced coma, and we were warned that he might not wake up, and that we didn't know what condition he'd be in if he did. That fear, uncertainty and waiting was unbearable.

When we came into ICU and saw that he was awake, I don't think I'll ever be able to describe the relief. Not only had he woken up, he was still our Morgan. It genuinely felt like a miracle, and it was the first moment I let myself believe we might get him back.

There was a huge amount still ahead of us, but in that moment none of it mattered. He was here. Three years later, neither of us takes that for granted.

That's why I feel so passionately about people learning CPR. You never know when you might need it, and you certainly never imagine the life of the person you love most in the world could be in your hands. I'll be forever grateful that I knew what to do that morning.

Why we started My S-ICD and Me

Firstly and mainly, it is to raise awareness of the importance of knowing and teaching CPR and AED training, but it has also evolved into a community where people who have experienced these life-changing events can come, share stories, worries, concerns, and have open and honest conversations with people who get it, and understand. Secondly, myself but Kitty in particular was really struggling to process what we had been through and we felt that setting up this community could give us the opportunity to connect with people who had been through similar experiences and help us feel we aren’t alone and there are others who can relate and we can help.

What's surprised us most is how many people still reach out, and how many of them are around my age, which is honestly quite frightening. We started sharing our story hoping it might help others, but the community has helped me just as much.

The message that stopped us in our tracks

While we were doing our charity run from London to Paris, one of the paramedics who was on scene the night of my arrest got in touch and shared her version of what happened.

It sent chills down my neck. Kitty and I sat there in silence for a while and had a good cry.

She told us that as paramedics they see countless people, but very few stories stay with them, and mine was one of those that did. When she came across our page, she and the wider team were so happy to see me doing so well, and to see us using this page to spread the message about how important CPR awareness is.

It was an incredible moment, and one we'll never forget.

Where we want this to go

Our ultimate goal is for CPR and AED training to become a fundamental part of education, so everyone grows up knowing what to do in an emergency.

At least 12 young people aged 35 and under die every week in the UK from undiagnosed heart conditions. That's terrifying.

We know first-hand that cardiac emergencies can happen to anyone, at any age. Kitty knowing CPR is the reason I'm here today. If we can help more people have that same knowledge and confidence to act, hopefully more families get the second chance we did.

Why this time of year matters to us

This time of year naturally makes us stop and reflect on everything that's happened. It reminds me how lucky I am to still be here and to have had the outcome I did, because tragically, not everyone gets that second chance. It makes us even more determined to use our story to raise awareness and help change that.

It really can happen to anyone

If there's one thing I want people to understand about cardiac arrest, it's this: it can happen to anyone. I was 21, fit, healthy and playing rugby, with absolutely no reason to think something like this could happen to me.

Cardiac arrest is incredibly serious, and the chances of survival are frighteningly low. In England, fewer than 1 in 12 people survive to 30 days after a cardiac arrest outside hospital.

Being young and healthy doesn't make you invincible. I was incredibly lucky, but my story could have had a very different ending.

Why CPR matters

Very simply: without it, I wouldn't be here.

Kitty never imagined she'd have to use CPR, especially on the person she loves most. But when that moment came, she knew what to do. You never think you'll need it until suddenly someone's life is in your hands. It gave me a second chance at life, and I think everyone deserves the chance to give that to someone else.

Kitty on knowing your own body

It's completely changed how I think about health, which, as someone who already had pretty severe health anxiety, is saying something! I've always been hyper-aware of my body, but now I'm much more conscious of noticing changes and not brushing things off as "probably nothing".

Health awareness matters because knowing what's normal for you helps you recognise when something isn't right, and seek help before it potentially becomes more serious.

Morgan was young, fit and healthy, and our lives still changed overnight. It's taught me to listen to my body, ask questions and never take our health for granted.

Where i am now

209 days after my cardiac arrest i played my first rugby match and became the first rugby player to play with a Subcutaneous (under the skin) Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (S-ICD).

I'm still playing rugby (kind of). I'm currently recovering from a back operation, but I'm hoping to be back on the pitch soon. No rest for the wicked!

If you're reading this and you've never learned CPR, here's what I'd say:

Learn CPR. Don't be afraid to act. You never know when the life of someone you love could suddenly be in your hands. Kitty knew what to do when it happened to me, and that knowledge gave me a second chance at life.

Every life is precious. Learn how to help save one.

Follow our journey and join the community at My S-ICD and Me . To find CPR Training and to find your nearest defibrillator.