There was hardly a dry eye in the house when Drumoak man Kev McPhee-Smith made a surprise appearance at a ceremony to honour the nurses that saved his life.
Mr McPhee-Smith, 58, suffered a cardiac arrest on July 22 last year while cycling on the A93, only to be rescued by four health professionals that just happened to be driving past.
Their quick reactions helped Kev make it to hospital even though his heart stopped for 25 minutes.
On Wednesday, Mr McPhee-Smith popped up unannounced at the Garioch Heritage Centre in Inverurie to present Zoe Meldrum, Menna Forgrieve, Donna Duncan and Megan McLeod with a Daisy Award, an NHS Grampian honour for those that go beyond the call of duty.
The surprise delighted the nurses, and proved emotional for some.
“There were tears,” said Ms Meldrum, a former staff nurse also from Drumoak. “Happy tears.”
Ms Meldrum was the last of the four to arrive on the scene after Mr McPhee-Smith collapsed on the verge of the A93 last year.
She followed ARI nurse Ms Duncan, who stopped first after noticing the cyclist wobble on his bike, and Ms Forgrieve, a Grampian medical emergency department advanced nurse practitioner.
Former ARI nurse Megan McLeod, who is now a school nurse, also stopped to help.
Together, the four took turns to give chest compressions until paramedics arrived.
Looking back at the miracle on the A93
Speaking to the Press and Journal, Mr McPhee-Smith said he was proud to hand over the Daisy Awards to his four saviours.
“It was so good to meet the four nurses again and seeing them recognised for what they did for me,” he said. “It was a very little amount of what I owe them.”
Speaking about his cardiac arrest on the A93, which happened just five minutes from his home in Drumoak, Mr McPhee said: “Donna [Duncan] noticed straight away that something was wrong and she stopped.
“She didn’t have to. And the same with the other three. None of them were working, but they just joined in to help when they saw someone was in severe need.”
The reunion at the NHS-organised ceremony in Inverurie on Wednesday was the second time the group had met up.
A lunch for the five earlier this year was attended by a Press and Journal photographer, who captured the moment.
Mr McPhee-Smith, who went to the awards ceremony in Inverurie with wife Anne Shearer, is still recovering from his cardiac arrest. But he said he is walking 10,000 steps a day as his strength returns.
He hopes eventually to get back on his bike but admits any future cycling will be by e-bike.
Meanwhile, Ms Meldrum said it was great to reconnect with her former patient, whom she revealed shed a few tears.
“He was, yeah, emotional,” she said. “But he’s looking so well. It’s great to see him looking so well.”