The family of a man who had a stroke on a street in central London has found the “guardian angel” who saved his life after an appeal on Twitter.
Mathew O’Toole, 47, was sitting on a bench outside a coffee shop on Wigmore Street in Mayfair on 10 June when he began vomiting and sweating.
A nurse with a “kind face”, who O’Toole believed to be called Dani, spotted the signs of a stroke and stopped to help, calling an ambulance.
“I just want to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, because I’ve still got a husband and my boys have still got a dad,” his wife, Georgina O’Toole, tweeted on Saturday as she asked for help in finding the woman she described as a “guardian angel”.
The tweet was shared thousands of times, and the family has now made contact with Danielle. Georgina told PA Media a friend of Danielle’s had passed on her email address after seeing the media coverage.
“I sent her a quick email last night to check she was the right Danielle, and she said yes she was, and she had been worrying ever since about what happened to him and was really pleased to know that he was OK,” Georgina said.
“She said there was no need for any thanks, but it would be very nice to have a chat over the phone when we have some time. She came across as a very lovely person.”
After spending five days in hospital, Mathew returned home and is expected to make a full recovery.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast on Sunday, he said: “It’s just amazing. I just want to talk to [Danielle] about why, about how, about what I can do to support what she did, and how more people can just not walk on by, which is what she didn’t do.”
His wife said the family hopes to be able to thank Danielle in some way, such as donating to a charity of her choice. They also want to raise awareness of the fact vomiting can be a sign of a stroke.
She told PA Media: “Although we know the common side-effects of a stroke, there can be lots of symptoms including vomiting, double vision, spinning, and nausea and I want to get that across and make sure that nobody passes on by.
“Unfortunately some people who contacted me on Twitter, their loved ones didn’t survive and that really brings it home.”
Georgina said the family was grateful they were able to spend Father’s Day together. “I will definitely be making dinner for him, but nothing out of the ordinary because we don’t need out of the ordinary, we just need him home and healthy,” she said.
