Scott McGuffin the Survivor

Eight days before Thanksgiving, McGuffin had a heart attack while driving in Doylestown near the Mercer Museum. He fell unconscious and crashed into two vehicles before slamming into a sign.

Frank Sturza saw the accident, called 911 and ran over and shut off McGuffin’s vehicle, which was revving, authorities said. Cpl. William Doucette of Doylestown police, who was soon on scene, began administering CPR in a desperate effort to save the man’s life, the McGuffins said.

Central Bucks Ambulance personnel arrived and the EMTs used a defibrillator to jump-start McGuffin’s heart. The shock treatment got McGuffin’s heart back into pace just as the ambulance arrived at Doylestown Hospital, said Eugene Vallely, a registered nurse at the hospital.

But McGuffin had experienced a major cardiac arrest and had been unresponsive for about 20 minutes, his heart lapsed in a lethal rhythm, said Vallely. The experts feared brain damage.

“It was very emotional not knowing what was going to happen,” said Colleen McGuffin.

But by last Thursday, McGuffin began to move his fingers and show signs that he could respond to voices, his wife said. By Friday, he could squeeze hands and perform a “thumbs-up” gesture.

“They started taking him off the respirator. That was a big milestone. They began taking out the other tubes,” said Colleen McGuffin. “I started to have a huge sigh of relief that he was going to be OK.”

McGuffin emerged with his long-term memory in working order. Over the weekend he had trouble remembering new things, but by Monday he was already able to recall what had happened the previous day.

He can’t remember the heart attack or accident, but on Tuesday he was walking and talking and expressing thanks for the effort and good fortune that kept him among the living against what medical experts said was fairly steep odds.

In fact, McGuffin’s ribs are what bother him most. Nine of them were broken while CPR was being administered. Vallely said such rigorous CPR was necessary.

“The fact that he got such good quality CPR saved his life,” Vallely said.

McGuffin’s survival was not only emotional for him, his wife and their two adult sons, but also for all involved who helped him, said Vallely.

Brett McNally the Saviour

Brett McNally, of Solid Gold Duo, sprung into action at The Berkeley Hotel on The Esplanade when the partygoer, aged in his mid 70s, fell to the floor during a rendition of My Way.

Brett, 28, who is newly trained in first aid, dropped his microphone and carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

He managed to get the elderly holidaymaker breathing again before paramedics arrived and whisked him off to Dorset County Hospital, where the man underwent an emergency operation to get a pacemaker fitted.

Brett, of Westham, said: “The gig was all going really well, then on my last song, an old man who was dancing with a lady suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing and was clinically dead.

“I stopped singing and it was lucky that I had just completed a first aid course because I commenced CPR and brought him back to life.

“It turned out that the hospital had to keep him in and do an emergency operation to put a pacemaker in.

“I feel quite proud of myself that I saved a life at a gig, although I did go into shock afterwards.”

The holidaymaker’s group, who are believed to be from Wales, were visiting the borough as part of Turkey and Tinsel tour.

Brett, who had completed a St John’s Ambulance course through his work in entertainment at the Russell Hotel and The Hotel Prince Regent just a few weeks before, said the man was expected to be able to leave hospital soon.

His wife and singing partner Terri McNally, 26, said: “It was a slow dance and the man was dancing with a woman when he fell backwards and landed right next to me.

“I bent down to see if he was all right and I could see he wasn’t.

“Everyone was saying ‘Put him in the recovery position’ but the man couldn’t breathe so it wasn’t the right thing to do.

“I saw the life go out of his face but luckily Brett was able to do CPR and brought him back.

“It was quite shocking actually.”

She added: “The organiser of the coach party told us that the man was doing really well and that he’s very grateful to Brett for saving his life.

“It’s inspired me to want to do a first aid course as we tend to perform for older people and it’s proved useful to have.

“We’re lucky it didn’t happen before Brett did his course.”