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Guernsey cardiac arrest survivor returns to playing pickleball after three months
Overview
Martin Paxton, a man who suffered a cardiac arrest while playing a pickleball match in Guernsey, has successfully returned to the sport three months later after being resuscitated by bystanders and receiving a pacemaker.
Key points
- Martin Paxton collapsed while playing a pickleball league match at the Guernsey Table Tennis Centre in June 2026.
- It took 18 minutes, two injections, and three defibrillator shocks to restart his heart, with CPR administered by his playing partner and the match referee.
- He spent several weeks recovering in a Southampton hospital, where he was fitted with a pacemaker.
- Paxton has since met with many of the rescuers and emergency personnel involved in his care to thank them in person.