In 2016, 27 year old Matt Ullmer from Gloucestershire was a full time visual merchandiser who loved spending time with his family and friends. Outside of work Matt led an active lifestyle with a passion for cycling he was often found out on his bike with friends. Matt had no reason to imagine his life was about to change forever.

 

On a sunny July day, he was tackling a hill climb with a friend when he started to feel unwell. Matt told his friend to ride ahead, expecting the feeling to pass. Moments later, he lost consciousness.

 

When he came to, he was lying in the road, a car stopped behind him, his helmet shattered in two pieces. Cut and bruised, Matt later told a friend he thought dehydration was to blame. He got back on his bike and headed home, not thinking too much more of it.

 

Just a week later, during a group ride, it happened again. Matt collapsed and his friends immediately dialed 999. Passers-by from a nearby cricket club began CPR. An air ambulance quicky arrived and the crew restarted his heart at the scene before airlifting Matt to John Radcliffe Hospital. There, specialists discovered he needed a pacemaker to regulate dangerous abnormalities in his heart rhythm.

 

Despite this serious scare, Matt was determined to continue his life. He began cycling again and even took a holiday.

​

On 21st October 2024, disaster struck again. Matt suffered another cardiac arrest, this time triggered by repeated firing of his pacemaker due to an abnormal heartbeat. Midlands Air Ambulance Charity was dispatched, with Dr Alex Wollaston, Dr Jen Scallan, critical care paramedic Steve Mason, and pilot Captain Ian Cameron responding by air ambulance. They once again restarted Matt’s heart and transported him to John Radcliffe Hospital. There, doctors found he was in heart failure and Matt had an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) fitted.

 

Life subsequently became unpredictable for Matt. The ICD fired frequently and with great force. Once, while out for a quiet family meal, the shock was so intense that Matt collapsed to the floor and the restaurant called 999. His world became filled with hospital visits, emergency calls, and a constant fear of when the next shock might come. Eventually, he moved back in with his parents for support.

 

On 28th May 2025, after a peaceful evening with family and his girlfriend Mollie, Matt went to bed. At 2am the next morning, his step mum heard unusual noises from his room and told Matt’s dad to check on him. Matt wasn’t breathing.

 

They immediately dialed 999 and began CPR. They continued for more than 40 minutes, refusing to give up and were grateful when a first responder arrived, closely followed by a land ambulance and the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity’s critical care car.

 

Thanks to the determined efforts of his parents, the ambulance crew, and the advanced interventions provided by the air ambulance crew, Matt achieved a Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSCI) meaning a sustained heartbeat restored after cardiac arrest.

 

Matt was taken to John Radcliffe Hospital again and later transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where specialists decided a heart transplant was needed. Amazingly they managed to find a donor match within a few weeks.

 

Matt said “I can’t thank the crew enough for everything they did that day. I’m still on the long road to recovery, but I’m determined to give back. My goal is to run a marathon in aid of Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, raising funds and awareness for the service that saved my life.”