Double award for Tain man Brian MacAngus who saved life of German tourist
AN Easter Ross community stalwart who saw a visitor to his town suffer a heart attack outside a local school sprang into action with a life-saving intervention.
Brian Macangus, a volunteer with Tain Scouts group, was one of several people on the scene last August when Georg Kammerer – visiting the town as part of a cycling tour of Scotland – suffered a heart attack outside Knockbreck Primary School.
He and his friend David Robertson had been passing at the time of the incident.
Trained in CPR and first aid due to his involvement with the Scouts, Mr MacAngus immediately responded by trying to resuscitate Mr Kammerer.
He said: "I was very grateful to have been trained in CPR by my local Scout district as part of my roles within the scouting movement locally, in Tain and Invergordon.
"There were many folk that day who helped make the outcome, luckily a happy one in the end. It was truly a team effort from locals, holidaymakers and the emergency services who all worked as one to assist both the gentleman concerned and his distraught partner."
In recognition of his efforts, Mr Macangus was awarded a resuscitation certificate from the Royal Humane Society.
This special award is presented to people who have undertaken a successful resuscitation of someone, who was at one stage ‘seemingly dead’, through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation (MMR) and/or heart-and-lung massage (CPR).
The Scouts also recognised Mr Macangus, and last month he received a commendation for meritorious conduct from chief scout, Bear Grylls, at a ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The Tain resident, who is also a coach with Ross County Girls football team, was one of only two Scots named in the 2023 honours list.
Mr Kammerer, who lives in Waldkirch, Baden-Wurttemberg, told us: "I am very, very grateful for the excellent first aid provided by Brian and my partner Anette. My body has recovered very well from the event. However, my soul still has many wounds and I still have a lot to process. I don't have any memories of the incident only a few nightmares have remained. I also have a souvenir from Scotland – a stent!
"I would like to thank all the helpers on site in Tain and in the hospital in Inverness. Without you I would not be alive."
