The mother of a Celtic fan who suffered a cardiac arrest at an Old Firm game has expressed her gratitude to the Scottish Ambulance Service responders who "literally saved his life".
After taking in the match at Hampden Park with his brother on April 17 of this year, Joseph Higgins, from Bellshill, began to 'feel sick'.
It was only when he made his way to the concourse area of the stadium that the severity of his condition was discovered, with the 26-year-old saying he has "very little memory of what actually happened".
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His mum, Ruth, 55, said: “At this point, he suffered a cardiac arrest.
“When at the hospital I don’t think I was able to process the seriousness of the situation.
"It is only now after he’s home it’s actually sunk in.
“It's not usual to survive a cardiac arrest, however, being in the right place at the right time and beside staff who had the correct training saved his life.”
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Thanks to the swift actions of SAS staff Thomas McCallum and Courtney Elaine Braceline, Joseph received vital medical care which saw him returned to a stable condition.
He went on to spend 47 nights at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital and Golden Jubilee Hospital, where he was diagnosed with a hereditary heart defect.
Keen to get back to supporting his team as soon as possible, the Hoops fan is said to have renewed his season ticket while still receiving treatment.
Ruth said: “He will very much look forward to being back at Hampden when they are playing there.
"We are just so thankful that [the] staff were close at hand and managed to get Joseph stable and to the hospital.
“It would be impossible to put into words the depth of gratitude we as a family feel.
"Hopefully, Joseph is well on the way to recovery, and as a mum I want to express my thanks to the team for the amazing work on match day.”
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