Life Flight

There are so many situations where people don’t make it… how incredibly fortunate I was, that for some reason, I was saved. I owe every person on that journey a lot of gratitude.

Every year, over 2,000 people in New Zealand suffer from an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Only 11% survive. In these moments, every minute is crucial.

Deb’s story began on a warm February night in Kāpiti. She and her husband Greg were sinking into their end-of-day routine, relaxed on the couch with the evening news murmuring in the background.

The first warning sign was when Greg cracked a joke expecting Deb’s usual chuckle but received a deafening silence. He turned to find her body completely locked up.

Greg’s fingers were trembling while dialing 111. The operator reassured him that help was on the way and told him to lower Deb to the ground and start life-saving compressions.

He could barely move her locked up body. Desperate, he ran to a neighbour for help and together they lowered Deb to the floor. The next few minutes felt like an eternity as Greg compressed Deb’s chest.

Paramedics and firemen joined Greg in the living room and took over for him. Only seven minutes had passed, but the room full of experts had to continue fighting for fifteen tense minutes until Deb’s heart responded.

There was no time to celebrate. Everyone in the room moved with purpose.

I had no idea what the next step was. I followed the paramedics wheeling Deb outside, and suddenly Life Flight was there!” says Greg, “I never even heard them land. It was the best thing I could have hoped for.

Deb was flown to Wellington Hospital’s rooftop helipad, and by the time Greg and their daughter Bernadette arrived by car, Deb was already leaving the operating theatre.

Deb was cared for on an ice bed in ICU. Three days later they started to warm the bed and Greg woke up to a call from the hospital. Deb was awake and asking for him.

After 12 days in Wellington, Deb was transferred to Kenerperu Hospital for rehabilitation – her recovery astonishing.

“I heard there were three cardiac arrests in the Kapiti Coast that day, and I was the only one to make it,” says Deb.

After a few weeks, Deb returned home.

“It’s been four and a half years since my accident, and every day I think to myself, how can I be a better person? I’ve been given another chance in life, and it’s meant everything to me,” shares Deb. “I’ve found new hobbies, celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary, welcomed a new grandchild and so much more. Thank you to everyone who made that possible and thank you for choosing to support Life Flight.”