Alex Wilson, of Lasswade, near Edinburgh, suffered a cardiac arrest in Thornhill two years ago while on a weekend outing with the Scottish branch of Moto Guzzi Club GB.
The 69-year-old was with his wife Maureen and fellow members of the bike club when he collapsed suddenly and stopped breathing at an event in Thornhill Community Hall.
As two members of the club, who were also nurses, administered CPR on Alex, others alerted local resident Michelle Fordyce to the emergency.
After collecting a portable defibrillator from its cabinet the Main Street of the village, she came to Alex’s aid and used the device to get him breathing again before an ambulance arrived.
To help save lives like Alex's, defibrillators have been placed externally on the following council buildings: Old Viewforth, Tolbooth Theatre, Raploch Campus, Lower Polmaise, Municipal Building and Teith House.
They will be available for staff, visitors and members of the public to use in an emergency
Alex said: “If it wasn’t for one of these defibrillators, I wouldn’t be here today, so I’m delighted that the Stirling Council have installed these devices on their buildings.
“I had my first heart attack in 2004 when I was climbing Glenshee. That was very painful and I showed symptoms but for this one there was no warning whatsoever.
“My eyes went funny and the last thing I remember is falling behind my chair. It was just like someone switching off a light. It just went dark and the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.
“I was lucky that two people who did CPR on me were trained nurses, but the importance of these life-saving devices can’t be stated enough, especially in remote areas like Thornhill.
“I’m very pleased to see that Stirling Council have placed defibrillators on their premises, and hopefully more local authorities follow suit.
“I would like to see this rolled out across the country and have them placed in as many places as possible.
“They are needed in any public place where you have people congregating as they are a safeguard. Knowing that they are there puts your mind at ease as, from my own experience, a defibrillator being near at hand is a life-saver.”
Alex, who will celebrate his 70th birthday next week (Oct 25), has now fully recovered and is back riding his beloved motorbike and enjoying pursuing his other interests which include walking.
The retired gardener and his wife Elaine travelled on their bikes to Stirling Council’s headquarters at Old Viewforth to lend their backing to the initiative.
Elaine said: “It’s absolutely brilliant that Stirling Council have installed defibrillators on their buildings. You can’t have too many of these devices, which we found out that weekend when Alex had his heart attack.
“While we had heard of defibrillators, we had no reason to know what they were about. The fact the defibrillator was in the village that day saved his life.
“When he was taken to hospital the staff told me in no uncertain terms that the defibrillator had saved him.
“We had two trained off-duty nurses giving him CPR but because we were in such a remote place, the time it took for the Ambulance to come, they couldn’t have continued to do CPR for that length and period.
“To know that other people’s lives will be saved by Stirling Council having these defibrillators is wonderful. It’s hard to put into words what it means. The fact that Alex is standing here is testament to their importance.”
To access the defibrillators in an emergency call 999, and the operator will provide the access code.
For more information visit: stirling.gov.uk/defibs
To access Trossachs Search and Rescue App, which includes the location of the Council's defibrillators and other across the area, see www.trossachsdefibrillator.co.uk
Picture shows Alex Wilson, holding one of Stirling Council’s portable defibrillators, alongside his wife Maureen Wilson. Others (from left) UNISON branch officer, Ewan Grant; Councillor Danny Gibson, Chair of Stirling Council’s Health and Safety Panel; Stuart Ballatyne, Chair of Trossachs Search and Rescue; Karen Palmer, Stirling Team Leader for the Scottish Ambulance Service; Abigail Robertson, UNISON branch officer; Norman McLeod, Team Leader for Corporate Compliance Health and Safety at Stirling Council.