Check-up in bingo club car park saves man's life

Paul Nightingale, 62, from Wednesbury, lives with his wife Heather and their child Clay

A man's life was saved thanks to a health check-up in a bingo club car park, as medics spotted a deadly aneurysm in his stomach.

Paul Nightingale, 62, had been invited to an NHS lung health check in a specialist van based in a Mecca Bingo car park in Oldbury, West Midlands.

While the scan was intended to detect early signs of cancer, medics spotted a large aneurysm in Mr Nightingale’s stomach and he had surgery a few weeks later.

“A trip to the bingo basically saved my life” he said.

An abdominal aortic aneurysm is a widening of the aorta, the main artery in the body, which runs through the abdomen from the heart to the stomach.

If an aneurysm bursts, it leads to serious internal bleeding and is often fatal.

Mr Nightingale said he was shocked by the diagnosis as he had not been in any pain

Mr Nightingale had a 9cm aneurysm in his stomach, but the abdominal aorta is usually only about 2cm wide.

“I was shocked as I was in no pain,” he said of his diagnosis.

He had his scan on 28 September, followed by a specialist appointment at Sandwell Hospital a week later and surgery at Heartlands Hospital on 23 October.

Mr Nightingale, who lives in Wednesbury with his wife Heather and their child Clay, spent five days recovering in hospital and was able to be discharged just in time for Clay’s 21st birthday.

He is now urging others to go for a check-up if they receive an invitation.

“If you’ve had a message from your GP, for God’s sake go. Sandwell’s lung health check saved my life and it could save yours too,” he said.