"Hero" nurse tackles 47-mile challenge...just one year after heart attack

Wednesday 31 July 2019

A local cardiac nurse hailed as a “hero” for surviving her own heart attack is now taking on a 47-mile charity walk to mark the anniversary of her near-death experience.

Tania Hanson is giving something back to the British Heart Foundation – the charity who named her a ‘Jersey Heart Hero’ with their award earlier this year – by walking 47-miles around the island to mark the anniversary of her heart attack.

Since she collapsed last year, Tania has been determined to take her “second chance at life” with both hands, having given up smoking and pledged to eat more healthily. It is this “overhaul” that earned her the British Heart Foundation award.

At 15:00 on 18 August last year, paramedics shocked Tania’s heart back into rhythm after she suffered a cardiac arrest and at 15:00 on 18 August this year she hopes to be crossing the finish line of her round-the-island charity challenge. 

Pictured: Tania was present in everyone's thoughts at the British Heart Foundation awards ceremony. (Facebook/British Heart Foundation Jersey)

Speaking of why she wanted to mark this milestone, Tania said: “I’m doing it a year to the day to prove to myself and other people that there is life after a heart attack.” 

The events unfolded after Tania had been shopping and felt unwell. She headed home, but when she got out of her car she suddenly collapsed. 

She quickly came round and told the people who had stopped to help her that she was having a heart attack, telling them to phone 999.

Tania was then taken to the Emergency Department where she was stabilised, after having being resuscitated and shocked in the back of the ambulance. 

Another cardiac arrest in Jersey’s Intensive Care Unit, Tanis was transferred to a hospital in Oxford where she had heart surgery. Her operation was a success and days later she was well enough to return to Jersey.

Now, she’s in training for a mammoth 47-mile walk for which she has already raised over £1,500 for the heart charity through her JustGiving page.

Pictured: Tania is now training for the charity walk.

“I’ve had a second chance at life and I don’t want to muck it up,” Tania, who has returned to work full-time, said. “It was up to me to do my rehab, to sort my diet out. I thought it would be hard to give up smoking but it wasn’t. Being a nurse I knew smoking was a contributory factor and that I would be silly if I didn’t turn my life around.” 

She added: “I’m so grateful to my family, friends and colleagues at the Hospital for their continued support throughout my recovery.”

Tania is training for her charity walk, which will start at midnight on 18 August from Havre des Pas. She will walk clockwise around the island and hopes to finish at the Dicq Slip – where she collapsed last year – at 15:00.

“I wanted to do something to challenge myself,” Tania said. “Every weekend I’m pushing myself to walk a little bit further. I’m slightly nervous because I don’t want to fail but I’m also looking forward to it as I want to give something back.”