Darryl Palmer’s heart stopped twice in an ambulance on the way to Wollongong Hospital last month, while two of his five children followed in a car behind.
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Thanks to the efforts of the paramedics onboard, the 51-year-old Koonawarra man was resuscitated by the time he reached the hospital and lived to tell the tale.
On Tuesday he gave thanks to the ambulance crew who saved his life - and was presented with a Cardiac Arrest Survivor Award.
NSW Ambulance Illawarra zone acting superintendent Josh Atkins said Mr Palmer was one of the lucky ones, with less than 6 per cent of people surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
‘‘All the years of training and practice in these types of situations kicked in for the paramedics and it resulted in this amazing outcome,’’ Supt Atkins said.
Mr Palmer is well aware of how fortunate he was and the single dad said he was glad to still be around for his five children and 12 grandchildren.
‘‘I’d had a stent put in 16 months ago but I’d been slack and had eased off my medication a bit,’’ he said.
‘‘That day I started having chest pains and rang the ambulance. I had a pretty severe heart attack on the way to the hospital and had to be revived a couple of times.
‘‘To go through that experience and come back from the other side, and now meet the guys who saved my life – it’s very humbling.
‘‘I’m forever indebted to them.’’
Paramedics Martin Ryan and Matthew Begaud and paramedic-in-training Drew Hentschel said it was great to see Mr Palmer back in good health.
The crew had performed an immediate electrocardiogram and transmitted the results to a cardiologist at the hospital who had agreed that Mr Palmer had a major blockage in his heart.
‘‘On the way his heart stopped twice and we needed to shock his heart and commence CPR,’’ Mr Begaud said.
‘‘Fortunately we were able to stabilise him and get him to the hospital where they confirmed he had a 99 per cent blockage of the left coronary artery and he underwent surgery.’’
Mr Martin added: ‘‘You join the job to make a difference, and this has just been a truly rewarding experience that justifies all the training we do.’’
For Charles Sturt University student Mr Hentschel, it was a dramatic introduction to his chosen profession.
‘‘It gets pumped into you at uni but you don’t know how you’ll react until you’re in the middle of it,’’ he said. ‘‘There’s nothing better than seeing him up and walking today.’’
