Dr Rob Sapsford
What a devastating shock to learn of Rob's death. My heart goes out to all his family, friends, colleagues and patients.
It was a privilege to have known Rob, even though we only met for a few times this year. But what a delight and enriching experience each meeting was!
In March 2023 I had a cardiac arrest, following which, in August 2023 I had an aortic valve replacement. This surgery resulted in atrial flutter, which sometimes cures itself, but 6 months later this hadn't happened, so in February 2024, my cardiac surgeon referred me to Rob for a cardioversion procedure (i.e. stopping and restarting the heart). At our first meeting, Rob said “I see you had an aortic valve replacement at the Nuffield in Leeds, and before that you had 2 stents fitted in Sheffield Northern General Hospital. Why Sheffield?”
“ That was where I had my cardiac arrest”
“ What were you doing in Sheffield?”
“ I was cycling the English Cathedrals Cycle Route: 2,000 miles around England, visiting 42 Anglican cathedrals. On that day I was cycling from Wakefield Cathedral to Sheffield Cathedral, and I was 2 miles from Sheffield Cathedral when I had my cardiac arrest. Fortunately an off-duty nurse saw me fall down, and saved my life by administering CPR for 20 minutes”
“My goodness, that's terrible - so how is your bike?” Rob asked with a smile and a wonderful glint in his eye!
I burst out laughing, and said you must be a cyclist. He nodded and laughed too!
4 days later I was in the operating theatre for the cardioversion procedure. The anaesthetist put a cannula into the back of my hand, and told me he was applying the anaesthetic and I should feel my arm getting warm with a tingling sensation. I expected he would ask me to start counting down from 100, but Rob took over “So, Eric, what's the most miles you've cycled in a day? I started to reply “One hundred and fff......” and fell asleep. When I came round after the procedure, my first words were “Rob, it wasn't one hundred and four miles, it was one hundred and forty seven.” What a wonderful way Rob had of putting his patients at ease at the most stressful of times! Rob confirmed the procedure had been successful, and I no longer had atrial flutter.
On the day after the news of Rob's death, I was on a solo 100 mile ride. As I was cycling alone for several hours, my thoughts frequently turned to Rob. He had enabled me to get back to doing what I enjoy - cycling long distances. I shed tears several times as I cycled, thinking about how grateful I am for what Rob had done for me, and how so cruelly he had been killed on his bike. What a loss, what a tragedy! God bless you, Rob, and thank you for everything!
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