From The Daily Telegraph, June 25, 2015
"GRAEME WEBB was clinically dead for more than 40 minutes after suffering a heart attack and going into cardiac arrest in the emergency department at Liverpool Hospital.
Graeme Webb with emergency physician Trudi Davis (right) who led the resuscitation and clinical nurse Kathryn Spears who looked after Graeme's wife Alison during the ordeal. Photo: Jonathan Ng
An emergency staff
member performed CPR on the father of two for six minutes until an automatic
chest compression device was connected to do it automatically.
This allowed staff
the time to transport him to the cardiac catheterisation laboratory for emergency
surgery.
While Mr Webb was
connected to the LUCAS 2 machine, interventional cardiologist Christian Mussap
said a coronary angioplasty was performed and a blocked artery scented.
“We achieved a truly
amazing outcome considering the situation,” Dr Mussap said.
“Mr Webb is extremely
lucky to be alive.”
The saga began when Mr Webb was driving home to Hammondville from
work on March 30. He rang wife Alison and said he wasn’t feeling well.
“I got home, then had
this tingling sensation in my mouth,” he said.
“I called an ambulance
... it was 1.19pm on my phone ... I remember looking at the time ... then I
called my wife and told her. I remember the ambulance arriving, walking out and
hopping in, I remember the ride, but after that, I don’t remember much at all
until a few days later.”
Emergency Department
Staff Specialist Trudi Davis was part of the team that kept Mr Webb alive and
said had it not been for the machine Mr Webb would have sustained a severe
brain injury.
“It makes things possible that weren’t before,” Dr Davis said.
“Within seconds after
Graeme went into cardiac arrest, a large amount of senior doctors were around
him.
“We were continually
doing CPR and giving him electric shocks and medication but his heart wouldn’t
start.
“He had shown subtle
indicators that he would be OK. When you go into cardiac arrest, there are
progressing heart rhythms — Mr Webb’s stayed in the first one — which gave him
a better chance of survival and less likely to have brain damage.
“As he was being
transferred into surgery, we gave his heart one more shock ... it started to
beat.”
The machine, which is
currently only available in seven NSW hospitals, was removed for the catheter
surgery.
“The cardiologist was as
shocked as all of us that Mr Webb was awake the next day and speaking,” Dr
Davis said.
“We all agree that if it
had been another time or another hospital, he’d be dead.”
Dubbed the Miracle Man, Mr Webb said he was embarrassed to carry
the title and felt the miracle lay within the hospital.
“The staff at Liverpool —
they’re the miracle,” he said.
“The only thing I can say
is ‘thank you’.”
After waking up, doctors
and staff asked Mr Webb if he suffered chest pains or any other signs of a
heart attack.
“It’s like my body was
doing me a favour and shutting down so I didn’t experience the heart attack or
cardiac arrest ... I have no knowledge of it,” Mr Webb said.
“Afterwards I was upset.
I was a wreck. I was like it for a few weeks.”
Mr Webb said it was a
real scare, especially for his 19-year-old son Matt and 18-year-old daughter
Sarah.
“How they feel, you can’t put into words. That was one of the
things. I hated putting them through that,” he said.
“You see how easy it is
to be taken from your family and friends. I don’t take things for granted like
I used to. It definitely makes you appreciate what you’ve got.
“You don’t expect to have
a heart attack. Even when I woke up, I had no idea what had happened or how
much time I’d lost.
“I wouldn’t have even
know that I had a blocked artery. I’m a typical male, I didn’t go to the doctor
as much as I should have.”
Mr Webb celebrated his
52nd birthday two weeks after his experience and said he spent it “very quietly”.
Mr Webb is now looking
forward to returning to work as a data manager with Australia Post, a job he
has held for more than 30 years.
“When I wake up in the
morning now, I feel grateful,” he said.
The $21,000 LUCAS 2
machine which brought him back to life was donated earlier this year by three
hospital auxiliaries — Busby, Liverpool Hospital and Moorebank-Chipping Norton.
Hospital general manager
Robynne Cooke thanked the auxiliaries for the donation.
“This is a great example
of fundraising by our auxiliaries really making a difference to the lives of
our patients and to the services we are able to provide,” Ms Cooke said.
“We
are extremely grateful for their ongoing generosity and support. It clearly
does make a difference.”"Read the original story using this link:
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/south-west/brought-back-to-life-after-heart-stops-beating-for-40-minutes/story-fngr8hxh-1227411171329
Listen to the story and see this machine in operation in an interview with Graeme Webb. http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/mornings/videos/4327426121001/
