A DAD-OF-FIVE who was dead for 72 minutes and lost most of his sight following a cardiac arrest is preparing to cycle the length of Britain.

Tim Caldwell, from Winnington, suffered a cardiac arrest while at home on August 2, 2013.

He was resuscitated by his wife Jen and son Kyle, but had stopped breathing for 72 minutes and suffered a hypoxic brain injury, which left him unable to walk, talk or see at the time.

But after six months in hospital before returning home for round-the-clock care, the 44-year-old has recovered in leaps and bounds, and next Monday he will be embarking on an 11-day cycling trip from Land’s End to John o’ Groats on a tandem with his cousin Andy.

Andy said: “In 2017, I suggested to Tim we do a charity cycle ride on a tandem, not that either of us had ever ridden a tandem before.

Northwich Guardian:

Tim has been training over the past two months

“With two days’ practice we completed the British Heart Foundation’s 40-mile charity ride from London to Reading in just over two hours. Tim had got the bug. The feeling of independence, excitement and achievement from the ride gave him the motivation to do another the year after, and each year we have added some more miles to our charity bike rides.”

Andy lives 200 miles away in Berkshire, meaning Tim has spent the past seven weeks training separately before he heads down south this weekend.

He suggested the Land’s End to John o’ Groats trip to Tim last Christmas, and the pair – who will be cycling along with friends Simon Fisher and Ben Whitmarsh – will need to average 90 miles a day to complete the 1,000-mile trip in 11 days.

Tim said: “I love it. The first time I did it was quite intimidating, I had not been on a bike for years.”

Tim says his family were ‘amazing’ at his time of need as they rallied together – including sons Jordan, Kyle, Joe and Tom, and daughter Evie.

Northwich Guardian:

Tim and his family

The incident left him losing most of his vision and suffering with apperceptive agnosia.

Tim said: “It means that I cannot read or see faces My vision has been like this for a few years now so I am used to not being able to see details.”

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Tim and Andy have so far raised more than £1,600 for their chosen charities, the British Heart Foundation and Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice, in Berkshire.

Andy, who is a PE teacher and has previously represented Britain in duathlon, added: “We are immensely proud of Tim and how far he has come in the last few years, where he could’ve become very depressed from something so difficult to cope with.”

To donate visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/tandemtastictimlejog2020 and track their progress @tandemtastictim on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.