Andrew Perkins was born with a collapsed lung, and had several health scares through his life, before nearly dying of anaphylactic shock.
Mr Perkins was home alone when his throat started to close.
“I noticed that I was coming up in a rash and that it was getting harder to breathe, but I had no idea what was happened,” he said.
“I drove myself to A&E and was taken to a crash room and by then my throat had closed completely.”
Pictured: Andrew Perkins worked as a medical engineer at the Princess Elizabeth Hospital.
Mr Perkins, who was a medical engineer for the Princess Elizabeth Hospital at the time, said he knew he was close to death.
“My vision started closing in as less and less oxygen went to my brain,” he said.
“I focused on a spot on the curtain and kept telling myself not to close my eyes. As my vision boxed in, I felt like the inevitable void was coming but I kept telling myself not to fall asleep.”
Mr Perkins said his previous experiences helped him to stay calm.
“I have had experiences of not being able to breath through my childhood, so I knew that the best thing I could do was to trust the medical staff and to stay calm,” he said.
Pictured: Andrew Perkins focussed on a spot on a hospital curtain as his vision started “closing in”.
Mr Perkins continued: “I had surgery as an infant for a collapsed lung and since then I have always had breathing difficulties, so I was used to the sensation.
“There was a time when I was at school on the playground and I was knocked into where my surgery had been and I could breathe in but not out.
“A teacher had to go and get my inhaler from inside and the whole time I was trying to stay calm; I think those kind of experiences helped.”
Mr Perkins will always need to take steroid medication for his lungs and now needs to carry two EpiPens, a medication for allergic reactions, with him at all times.
“I had no idea that I had a food allergy before going into anaphylactic shock and the doctors weren’t able to determine what had caused the reaction, so there is a chance it could happen again at any time,” he said.
Pictured: Andrew Perkins has moved to London to pursue a career in stand-up comedy.
Mr Perkins said that his close call with death had encouraged him to make the most of life.
“If I hadn’t driven myself to the hospital then it’s unlikely I would still be here today,” he said.
“It has taught me that you never know what day may be your last. It may be a health problem, it might be an accident, life can throw you a curveball at any time.
“I try to live my life now as best I can without regret.”
Mr Perkins, now 31, is currently living in London trying to forge a career as a stand-up comedian while also working on his fifth screen play and finishing a science-fiction thriller novel.
“I am working on the things I want; I have a YouTube channel, I am sending my novel out to publishers and I am making some headway on the comedy circuit,” he said.
Pictured: Andrew Perkins has encouraged islanders to make the most of life.
“A lot of people delay going for the things they really want, either thinking they’ll have more time, that they’re waiting to be in a better financial position, there are a lot of reasons people use,” said Mr Perkins.
“I would encourage everyone to go for what they want now, because you never know when events will change and you won’t have chance anymore.
“Maybe you’ll fail, but maybe you’ll succeed; it’s better to try now because you might not get another chance.”
