PRECARE

It was Paul’s first day of holidays for the festive season and after a morning walk with the dog to grab a coffee for himself and his wife Emma, Paul felt chest pains.

‘Thinking it was referred pain from an old back injury, I dismissed it. But when the pain didn’t go away, I told Emma I would make an appointment with my GP. Emma pointed out that given I had chest pain, the GP would send me to Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) anyway, and she offered to drive me to emergency.’

They headed towards RNSH and had just turned onto the main road, when Paul said he could see black spots. Paul says his field of vision collapsed like someone had turned an old television off. His heart and breathing stopped, and he lost consciousness.

Emma called 000 as she negotiated three lanes of traffic to turn into the nearest side street. As she struggled to get Paul out of the car, she saw two people and shouted out to them, asking for their help.

‘Two wonderful strangers, Carlos and his partner Valeria, raced over. Carlos saw I was unresponsive and couldn’t feel my pulse. He started CPR as Valeria was relaying information from NSW Ambulance Call Centre.’

Fortunately for Paul, Carlos had been a lifeguard for 10 years in Chile and with each chest compression, he was pumping vital blood to Paul’s organs, ensuring they weren’t starved of oxygen while the Ambulance responded.

Within minutes, NSW Ambulance and the PRECARE team arrived, with their help and defibrillation, the team were able to get Paul’s heart started again. Paul was placed in an induced coma, intubated and rushed to RNSH.

‘I will be forever thankful to the people who came forward to offer help and comfort to Emma. I can’t imagine what it would have been like for her to watch her husband of nearly 30 years lying on the pavement.’

On arrival at RNSH, the cardiologist provided further emergency treatment, inserting three stents to keep the arteries open and restore blood flow to Paul’s heart. The cardiologist told Paul’s family that a coronary angiogram showed plaque in Paul’s heart that had blocked one of the major arteries, causing the heart attack, but “plumbing” in that artery was now restored.

‘It was a nerve-wracking time for my family, particularly when the doctors were trying to bring me out of sedation and I seemed confused. However, the staff were extraordinary, from taking the time to explain everything to our sons to letting Emma know she can call them at any hour. As Emma said, it was the kindness shown for even the smallest things, that helped ease the enormous burden.’

By lunchtime the next day, Paul was sitting up in bed, chatting to everyone. It was a great relief for his family, but also his entire care team who were also genuinely elated to see him doing so well. A few days later, on Christmas Day, Paul was discharged from hospital.

‘I’m in my mid-50s, a non-smoker, I’m reasonably fit and my annual blood tests said I was healthy. So when I suffered a cardiac arrest, it came as a complete surprise. We are incredibly fortunate to have such excellent healthcare in NSW and I will always be extremely grateful for the exceptional treatment I received, and the warmth and care shown to my family.’

PRECARE thanks Paul for telling his story.