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Recognising he was feeling unwell, Brian made his way back down from the farm to his home and his wife, Sharon. He recalls telling Sharon about the discomfort he was in, and she quickly rang 111. Being part of a close-knit Wairarapa community, she also rang their daughter, who lives next door, and a nurse who lives around the corner.

The farm is on Cape Palliser Road, a no-exit road that hugs the green and rugged Wairarapa landscape on one side, with the Pacific Ocean lapping (and occasionally roaring) on the other. This beautiful spot nearly at the southern-most tip of our region probably seems remote to most of us but Brian says that “people think we’re in a remote spot - but we’re not really!”.

A shared response

When it comes to life-threatening incidents, the first responder community works together as a shared response. That’s why Brian remembers Martinborough Fire Brigade volunteer firefighters arriving first at the farm, with a Wellington Free Ambulance arriving shortly after. Brian laughs that they “probably broke a few speed records to get here so quickly”.  Wellington Free has trained and supported Martinborough Fire Brigade for this exact purpose – to increase the capability of a close response to many of the rural communities of South Wairarapa.

“I remember being sat on the couch with monitors on,” Brian says. “I also remember hearing ‘oh, there’s a clot here’.”

The next thing Brian remembers is “waking up, with Sharon beside me. I didn’t realise I was on the floor. I remember the uncomfortable feeling in my chest had gone.”

Upon arrival, the paramedics performed an electrocardiogram (or ECG - a quick test that records the electrical activity of your heart, including the rate and rhythm) on Brian. An ECG can show changes in the heart’s electrical activity and any heart damage, which can be caused by a clot. A clot in your heart’s artery blocks critical blood flow, reducing the amount of oxygen your heart receives. In Brian’s case, this resulted in a heart attack that led to cardiac arrest – the sudden loss of all heart activity. 

In Brian’s words, he “carked it for a minute”.

Life-saving efforts

Brian was revived thanks to the efforts of paramedics and Martinborough firefighters and their combination of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation – a vital life-saving action anyone can perform on a person having a heart attack that gives them the best chance of survival) and the use of an AED (automated external defibrillator – a device that analyses the heart’s rhythm and, if necessary, delivers an electric shock to help the heart get back to its natural rhythm). Following one shock from the AED, Brian was conscious and alert again.

This combination of actions, alongside calling 111 and prompt professional medical care, is called the chain of survival. If the chain is unbroken, people experiencing a cardiac arrest are given the best chance possible of survival. 

Once Brian was stabilised by the paramedics, the rescue helicopter was dispatched to transfer Brian to Wellington Hospital for immediate hospital care.

Brian recalls how throughout the paramedics were so ‘reassuring’ even though he was in a critical condition.

“It was so bloody fortunate,” Brian says. 

“If they weren’t here, I wouldn’t be here. If they’d arrived 5 minutes later, I would have stayed dead.”

‘Feeling absolutely brilliant’

Brian underwent surgery a few days later to have a stent (a short, wire mesh tube) fitted into his artery to keep it open in the future.

Brian explains:

“I was laid up for about 6 weeks after my heart attack and surgery. But once I was feeling better, I continued working until I semi-retired earlier this year. I still do a bit of farm work.”

These days, Brian is “feeling absolutely brilliant”. 

He recalls what a doctor said to him at Wellington Hospital in the days after his surgery: “If you didn’t have a strong heart, you wouldn’t be here”. Something that can perhaps be attributed to the decades of farming and the active, outdoors lifestyle that Brian has under his belt.

Supporting the future of Wellington Free Ambulance for the Wairarapa community

Brian says he “can’t be more thankful” to everyone involved in saving his life that day. For years, his local community has hosted an annual fundraiser, with funds donated to the rescue helicopter and Wellington Free, including the new Wairarapa Ambulance station – something that now seems more important than ever.

“I’ve spoken about the new station with farmer friends, all of whom have donated too. We all know the importance of it,” Brian explains.

What’s also important is having AEDs nearby, learning how to use one and learning how to perform CPR – especially in our most remote communities. In Brian’s community, he knows of 2 nearby AEDs and believes that he knows about “30 people in the community with the skills to have done CPR on me”. 

Recently, we’ve installed AEDs donated by the Wairarapa Recovery Office in a range of rural community halls around Wairarapa, including at Pirinoa Hall which is local to Brian. As well as installing AEDs, we’ve provided free CPR training through our Lloyd Morrison Foundation Heartbeat programme, so our communities have these essential life-saving skills.

Help us continue to save lives like Brian’s across our vast Greater Wellington and Wairarapa region – please donate today.