DOCTORS did not expect Derek Craig to survive the massive heart attack he suffered in April, 2007, and, when he did, they expected him to remain practically brain dead.

But with the help of full-time care and support of wife Andrea, the retired Wirral businessman has defied the odds to slowly make his way back to health.

Mr Craig was comforted in his darkest times by the writings of his wife, who meticulously documented their experiences and what had happened to them.

She has now published the letters and diaries in a new book Love, Luck or Miracle, which the Heswall couple hopes will prove a help and comfort to others.

Mrs Craig said: “We were told that Derek wasn’t meant to recover.

“Very few people who suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrests survive.

“But he proved all prognosis wrong.”

Mr Craig had been suffering chest pains ahead of the heart attack but, and such is life, kept putting off a check-up.

The cardiac arrest happened as he was alone shopping in a DIY store, and said it was only because two staff members had just completed CPR training that he had the on-the-spot help that saved his life.

At its most serious, the heart attack had left Mr Craig, a retired businessman who had previously run a small number of construction companies, with 80% brain damage and 50% damage to his heart.

Doctors told Mrs Craig, and the couple’s daughter, Sarah, to say their goodbyes.

Remarkably, he pulled through a life-saving operation, and spent six months in Arrowe Park Hospital and a further two months in Clatterbridge’s neurological unit recovering from the heart attack and undergoing intensive speech and physiotherapy.

Early on in his recovery, at the suggestion of a specialist, Mrs Craig began to keep a diary and write letters to her husband. Soon, even staff were interested in what she was writing and started to add to it.

“Derek had to relearn everything, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t talk, he had no memory of what had happened,” she said.

“It was very difficult.

“And, as he started progressing, he was down a lot.

“I read him the diaries and letters, and it was onlywhen he was feeling very much better he could tell me howmuch it had helped him.” She was encouraged by a doctor treating Mr Craig to consider publishing her diaries as a resource that would be beneficial to other people going through similar experiences.

The book – the diaries as they were written, with a retrospective account – is available now and will be officially launched in an event next month.

Now, the couple say they are happier than ever, and both stress the importance of paying attention to the warning signs that could be precursors to serious health problems.

Mrs Craig, a spiritual healer who gave up work to care for her husband full-time said: “I don’t profess to be a writer.

“But if I can get across to one person not to ignore the symptoms as Derek did it will be worth it.”

Mr Craig said: “From day one, I have had to push myself on to keep going , bit by bit.

“Without Andrea by my side I never would have done it.

“I really hope this book helps.”