So lucky to be alive’
woman on the phone in one hand and pushing on his chest on the other,’’ said 35-year-old Moss, who works as a terminal manager for Air Chathams.
He said he saw straight away that Ruferwas unconscious on the ground so he took over performing CPR while the woman called 111.
‘‘I thought this was quite serious so I said ‘I’ve done first aid training, I’ll jump on and do this while you call the ambulance’.
‘‘At that stage he wasn’t breathing. He didn’t have any life in him, he was in a bad way.
‘‘It was hard to recognise him. He had turned quite grey. It was GETTY IMAGES about five minutes from when I got there that the ambulance got there but I’m so thankful they could get there so quickly becausewithout them it might not have turned out so well.’’
It was ony after he’d found Rufer’s ID that Moss realised he’d come to the rescue of a soccer star he’d grown up watching on TV.
Rufer played 23 times for New Zealand, including at the 1982 World Cup, and was a star in European club football in both Switzerland and Germany in the 1980s and 90s, when he played for marquee club Werder Bremen.
He still plays football at masters level – before his heartattack, he was due to attend a football tournament in Switzerland this week – exercises regularly and said he felt ‘‘fit and healthy’’.
Healthwas on his mind as well yesterday when even from his hospital bed hewas using his brushwith death as away to urge others to get a regular heart check-up.
‘‘It’s been two years since my last one,’’ he said.
‘‘I eat healthy too but I’m going to have to up the ante. I’ll probably have to travel less but I love to travel, I love the action and going away. In amonth’s time I’ll go back to my normal stuff but I’ll keep going to the doctor.’’
Rufer said he ‘‘felt fine’’ yesterday and planned to watch the Wellington Phoenix game from the hospital bed with one of his two sons last night.
He is expected to be discharged after the weekend.
‘ He didn’t have any life in him, he was in a bad way.’ NICK MOSS