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Teacher gives a heartfelt thank you to boyfriend
The Gazette
|September 15, 2025
A SCHOOL teacher says she 'wouldn't be here' if it wasn’t for her boyfriend’s lifesaving actions after she suffered an out-of-the-blue cardiac arrest age just 24.
Rachel Kennington collapsed in October 2024 after taking a shower at home.
The Year Four teacher at St Bernadette’s Primary School, in Nunthorpe, was saved by her boyfriend, 29-year-old Matty Flay, who gave her CPR until an ambulance arrived.
She was rushed to the University Hospital of North Tees in Stockton, where she remained in intensive care for a week.
“There's no doubt that Matty saved my life,” said Rachel.
“We all say he’s an absolute hero and I'm so very grateful. I genuinely wouldn't be here if it wasn’t for him.”
Matty, a telecoms engineer, heard Rachel fall to the floor in a dressing room next to their bathroom and immediately phoned Rachel’s mum, Jackie, and asked if Rachel was prone to fainting.
This story is from the September 15, 2025 edition of The Gazette.
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