Caremark carer Sophie Mellor saves John's life in Ollerton
A carer who successfully brought a customer back to life by performing CPR has been praised for her actions.
John Fleet’s family say Christmas has come early for them thanks to the quick-thinking of 22-year-old Sophie Mellor.
Sophie, who works for homecare company Caremark Mansfield & Ashfield, thought she was making one of her regular home calls to see John until she discovered him unconscious in bed.
Sophie takes up the story: “It’s not unusual for John to be in bed when I come in and initially, I thought he was just sleeping.
“I tried to rouse him and there was no response and after checking his pulse and realising he wasn’t breathing I then knew something was wrong and without thinking about it my training immediately kicked in.
“I dialled 999 and as the ambulance was on the way they talked me through CPR and I did this for 20 minutes until he came back to life.
“It felt like a lifetime, but I tried not to panic and it was only when the ambulance crew arrived that I realised what had happened I broke down in tears as the adrenaline wore off.”
What makes Sophie’s actions even more remarkable is that she only became a carer for the first time in 2024 and had only recently returned to Caremark after taking a break for her own health reasons.
“Now I have had time to process everything, I am very proud of what I did and I am delighted that I was able to help John,” adds Sophie, who lives in Ollerton, near Mansfield.
“Whilst I would be happy if something like that never happened to me again, it has made me realise why I do this job and it’s safe to say that this definitely now the career for me!”
John’s daughter, Joanna Brown, said her dad is now recovering in hospital and has no recollection of anything that happened.
“It's not possible to put into words how grateful we are that Sophie was able to remain calm and complete a lifesaving task that she's never done before, apart from in training, under the most intense pressure,” she said.
“She showed incredible bravery and strength of character to act immediately and this is why we still have our dad, grandad and great-grandad in our lives.”
Sophie recently received a special award at the Caremark Mansfield & Ashfield Carer of the Year awards.
Care Manager Chloe Holmes said: “We are all so incredibly proud of Sophie and her heroic efforts.
“It’s almost impossible to imagine the thoughts that were going through her mind, but she put her customer at the forefront and because of her actions she is the reason John gets to spend Christmas with his family.”