A family has issued a plea for help after a dad-of-three tragically died as locals raced to save him.
Peter Panagiotis Giorgiou suffered a cardiac arrest in the village of Bothwell on Friday evening, September 3.
Locals raced to his aid with a life-saving defibrillator but despite 40 minutes of CPR he was pronounced dead on route to the hospital.
Peter’s devastated wife Eleni is desperately trying to raise the funds to repatriate her beloved husband back to his native Greece, where his three children and family remain.
The 52-year-old collapsed at the home of Allan Stewart, who has been instrumental in helping to bring the defibrillators to the town and village.
Allan, who fought tirelessly to save his pal of over 30 years, said: “Thank you to everyone who dropped everything and rushed to help us on Friday night.
“Sadly, our battle was in vain.”
He told the Advertiser: “On Friday evening we had to access our community defibrillators. Sadly, the outcome was not a good one.
“What is even harder to come to terms with is that the patient was ‘one of our own’.
“Peter worked tirelessly behind the scenes to support the G71 Community Group in Bothwell and Uddingston and was affectionately known to all of us as ‘Pete the Greek’.
“We have lost not just a charity worker, but a very close friend – indeed my best friend for 30-plus years.”
Allan and Eleni have been told it will cost around £7000 to repatriate Peter’s body to his homeland and have already raised hundreds - but need more support.
Allan added: “We truly would like to thank everyone who came to our assistance on Friday when Peter went into cardiac arrest, this just shows what true community spirit we have.
“Our thoughts are with his partner Eleni at this terribly sad and difficult time, and we will be working very closely with her and Peter’s family in Greece to provide full support. However, in the meantime we ask that we are given the time and space to deal with this respectfully.
“Thanks again to all who helped or offered assistance.
“Pete the Greek was utterly unique and I for one will never meet anyone like him again.”
You can donate to the fundraiser here.
