A FARNHAM dad-of-two has been reunited with the “guardian angel” who saved his life after his story made national headlines.

Mat O’Toole, a 47-year-old city worker who lives with his wife and two teenage sons in Boundstone, suffered a stroke outside a London coffee shop on Thursday, June 10.

Later describing the episode as “incredibly scary”, he started vomiting, lost his balance and his eyesight became blurred.

But as he was not displaying the conventional ‘FAST’ symptoms of a stroke, many people passed by – possibly assuming he was drunk or hungover.

Thankfully, though, for the local family man, one passer-by realised what was happening and came to Mat’s assistance.

And after receiving medical treatment, Mat launched an appeal on social media last weekend to track down his saviour.

This quickly went viral, and Mat and his wife Georgia were interviewed at home by the BBC, Sky News and ITV – while his story also made national newspaper headlines.

It had the desired effect, as Mat was reunited with Danielle, who had come to his assistance a few days earlier. And although he turned down further interviews with ITV’s This Morning and Sky’s Kay Burley on Sunday, he has now added his voice to those campaigning for a change to the national ‘FAST’ stroke slogan to incorporate the additional symptoms he experienced.

His story has also been highlighted by Heartstart Farnham Lions as a perfect example of its Don’t Be a Bystander slogan.

"It’s been just ridiculous,” said Mat, of the national TV and newspaper coverage his stroke and subsequent appeal to find his “guardian angel” received last weekend.

Speaking after turning down numerous requests for a “big TV reunion” with his saviour Danielle, Mat said everything “went a bit silly” after a Twitter appeal to thank the passer-by for coming to his aid.

This quickly achieved Mat’s immediate aim, as Danielle got in contact later on Saturday.

And Mat has since agreed to make a donation to a charity of Danielle’s choice in gratitude for saving his life.

But Mat hopes to use his story to raise awareness that not all strokes follow the typical ‘FAST’ symptoms: Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech problems, Time to call 999.

To this end, Mat has thrown his support behind a campaign calling for the acronym to be changed in the UK.

He added: “In a lot of countries they use BEFAST, which is FAST with the addition of balance and eyesight, which sums up mine exactly.”

Mat’s stroke happened just ten days before Father’s Day, and having been discharged after a short hospital stay, he said it was “great to be at home and spend time with the family” last Sunday.

He added his stroke came “completely out of the blue”, and though he still has mobility and coordination issues, he is expected to make a full recovery.

“So far there’s been no impact on my cognitive abilities or speech or anything like that, so I’ve just been incredibly lucky,” Mat said.

“I knew something was wrong and I remember being very scared because I had never encountered anything like it before. But I remember Danielle being very calming and soothing throughout.

“I initially thought she was an off-duty nurse, but it turns out she works in pharmaceuticals and had done a series of first-aid courses at work.”

Incredibly, Matt added it was the first time he or Danielle had ever walked down the street in Mayfair where he collapsed.

“It was a case of it happening in the right place at the right time with the right person walking on by,” he said.

“We posted on Twitter we were looking for our guardian angel, and when we spoke Danielle said she thought I must have had one looking out for me that day because it sent us both down that road.”