Flight collapse man meets nurse

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A man who collapsed with a heart condition on a flight to Manchester Airport has met the nurse who helped to save his life.

Darren Smith, 33, from Hazel Grove, Stockport, was returning from a holiday in Mexico with his girlfriend when he fell ill 30,000ft in the air.

He stopped breathing but nurse Ed Torres and a former medic used a defibrillator to restart his heart.

Now recovering, Mr Smith said he could not thank the pair enough.

After his cardiac arrest, the medics kept him stable for an hour-and-a-half until the plane landed.

'Second chance'

The Thomson flight was diverted to the Azores where Mr Smith received medical treatment before being allowed to return home.

After weeks of tests, it has emerged that he had a hidden heart defect called ventricular tachycardia.

Mr Smith said he was lucky the nurses happened to be on board the New Year's Eve flight.

Darren Smith and Ed Torres were reunited on Tuesday

Speaking about his heart, he said: "For it to go off then, it probably went off in one of the best places that it could have done with having a defibrillator there.

"The nurses that were on the plane, if they weren't there then it might have been a different outcome.

"I feel like I've been given a second chance."

Mr Torres works at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, just a few miles from Mr Smith's home.

During a reunion on Tuesday, Mr Torres said he was just happy that his patient was on the mend.

Mr Smith added: "It's amazing what Ed's done for me. I can't thank him enough.

"What do you say? What do you do? It's quite an emotional time."