A woman who is scared of heights is taking on a wing walk to raise money for the hospital that saved her dad’s life.

Nadine Hicks will be taking on the stunt on 9 August this year to raise money for the Bristol Heart Institute (BHI).

It comes after her dad, Steve Hicks, was treated at the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest at his home in Wroughton, Swindon.

Nadine said: “I have never known terror like I felt when dad went into cardiac arrest in my mum and dad’s living room, and I have never felt relief or gratitude like I did when I realised dad was going to be okay.

“The cardiac arrest wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen portrayed on the TV - and even if I had this was my dad so nothing could have prepared me.

“When I think about doing the wing walk I get such a flurry of nerves in my stomach because of my fear of heights.

“I always think I can't ask people for their hard earned cash unless I’m actually going to push myself out of my comfort zone properly.”

Last year Steve had a cardiac arrest at home with his wife and Nadine’s mum, Carmen. It started as chest pains, but went into a full cardiac arrest.

Nadine said: “The paramedic started CPR and had a backup team on the way.

“Mum and I were literally beside ourselves at what we were seeing. We wanted to help but we couldn’t. I just kept talking to dad as loudly as possible just hoping that he could hear me and it might be of some help.

“We could see on the machine that dad’s heart had stopped and the resuscitation wasn’t working how we were praying it would.

“After four minutes, the paramedics had his heart going again but it was clear he wasn’t out of the woods. They were battling to get him onto a gurney and even when he was in the ambulance it took a long time to calm and stabilise him enough to be taken to the hospital.”

Steve was initially taken to Great Western Hospital before being transferred to the BHI.

There he suffered another cardiac arrest before being put into an induced coma to reduce the chance of brain damage.

A few days later, Steve was brought out of the coma.

Nadine said: “We always knew he was stubborn and that he’d do anything for us, but we’ve never been more grateful for either than in that moment.

“His eyes were darting around the room, following the voices but I’m not convinced that he was able to see or process who was there in that moment. We were telling him it was us and he seemed to calm down hearing our voices, especially when he heard mum’s.

“Dad still needed a lot of care and the doctors and nurses did not let up once. I honestly cannot fault the people that were interacting with and their treatment of us and dad.”

Now Nadine is taking on the dramatic wing walk to say thank you to the staff for taking care of her dad.

Donations can be made via her Just Giving page.

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