Volunteer survives heart attack at fire
ALL heart attack survivor John Kennedy wants is a burger and ice cold beer – and even his doctor thinks he deserves it.
The NSW firefighter said he was “so thankful for his country” after he survived a cardiac arrest on the front line of a blaze last week.
Stranded in the middle of thick national park scrub at the foot of Kaloe Mountain the veteran forestry worker and volunteer firefighter collapsed 300km from the closest hospital.
Kept alive by the skill of the trained nurse he was working alongside, his heart was restarted by a defibrillator four times.
He was unconscious for 20 minutes before the Westpac helicopter arrived.
At Grafton Hospital he was administered drugs to clear the block in his heart and, in a last-ditch effort, he was transferred to the Gold Coast University Hospital (GCUH) where he underwent emergency surgery to clear a major artery.
“I was just getting a back burn going and it was lights out,” Mr Kennedy remembered of the attack.
“I woke up and realised I was in the Westpac chopper which was pretty exciting because I love the Westpac chopper – but it’s not so good I’m inside it.”
While doctors worked on Mr Kennedy, his wife Sharlene
and son Jack rushed to the Gold Coast from Grafton, via long detours caused by bushfires.
When Mr Kennedy regained consciousness he remembered the face of nurse Candice Bawden of the GCUH cardiac team.
“I remember her eyes looking at me,” he said. “Everything was rushing around.
“Some time later I woke up in bed and thought I needed a bath. I was still covered in soot.”
He reunited with Candice in the hospital’s cardiac suite yesterday. Her blue eyes were now brimming with tears as Mr Kennedy thanked her and the team for their work.
“I remember when he arrived he was clutching at his chest, like he was in pain,” Ms Bawden said.
“I knew in my gut the clot wasn’t broken down and we needed to get in there. This case was such a reminder of why what we do is important. He is out there putting his life on the line for us.”
Now in recovery, Mr Kennedy said he wanted to thank all those who saved his life.
“Part of my job in fire fighting was planning and ensuring emergency response plans are in place. You go through that and hope like hell it will make a difference and here it did. “Everyone did their job. “You hear of a firefighter dying on the field but you don’t realise what a hole you would have left for everyone.
“I would have left a wife without a husband, my son is about to start uni. I’m glad I am here.
“First thing I am going to do is have a beer and a hamburger. The food here is good, but it’s not a hamburger.”
Forunately for Mr Kennedy, the cardiac team gave him a pass.
Asked if he would return to his passion of fire fighting, he said: “Try and stop me.”
I WAS JUST GETTING A BACK BURN GOING AND IT WAS LIGHTS OUT
JOHN KENNEDY