Cardiac arrest survivor reunited with paramedics who saved his life

Saving lives is all in a day's work for paramedics but it’s not every day that they get a chance to meet the people they save. Rutherford Paramedics were reunited with an East Maitland resident who went into cardiac arrest minutes after voting at last years Federal election at a Polling Booth in Tenambit.

Lindsay Parrish has just left the polling booth at Tenambit Community Centre when he was found slumped across the car steering wheel pulseless and unresponsive. Fortunately for Lindsay, two members of the public, an off duty nurse and the Member for Paterson Bob Baldwin rushed to Lindsay’s aid and started to perform CPR after finding him with no signs of life.

On arrival of Rutherford Paramedics Larry Hammett and Patrick Lannen, a heart monitor revealed his heart was in a dangerous and unstable rhythm. Due to the excellent CPR being performed, paramedics were able to administer life saving treatment using a ZOLL defibrillator and continued with advanced life support care. Lindsay was shocked twice and his heart returned to a sinus (normal) rhythm with respiration and pulses restored.

Lindsay was taken in a critical condition to the Mater Hospital. He has since made a full recovery and returned back to his East Maitland home. His recovery is solely because of the successful completion of the chain of survival which included early calling of ambulance, effective CPR and advanced life support care administered by the Rutherford Paramedics and the continuum of care provided by the Mater Hospital.

Further information:
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in Australia, and kills one Australian every ten minutes. The chances of recovering from a heart attack/cardiac arrest improve dramatically when the chain of survival is followed, which includes:

Early recognition of the signs of a heart attack and activation of Triple Zero
Early CPR
Early Defibrillation
Early Advanced Care

By knowing the signs of a heart attack, you can play a vital role in saving the life of a friend or relative.

Signs include:

Chest discomfort: Most heart attacks involve pain in the centre of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. Discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain.
Discomfort in other areas of the upper body: Can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath: Often comes along with or prior to chest discomfort.
Other symptoms: Might include a cold sweat, nausea or light-headedness.

Photo: Cardiac arrest survivor Lindsay Parrish with Rutherford Paramedic Larry Hammett

Ambulance is committed to assisting the community create safer and healthier environments and outcomes by making prevention everyone’s businesses. A number of innovative community education programs have been implemented to assist identify life threatening conditions, understand what to do in an emergency and the importance of adopting illness prevention strategies.