John: A game of golf that went a fairway

John’s story

John was playing a gentle game of 9 hole golf at the long Reef Golf Course with a group of friends. The four were all members of the Newport Probus Club and at the time, 69 year old John was pleased that his game was going pretty well. However as he walked up the green to the third hole, the game was cut short as he suddenly collapsed.

Luckily the foursome included some very able “hands on” people. John’s playing partner, a retired registered nurse, immediately recognised that something had gone badly wrong and immediately started CPR. She told one of the other friends to call an ambulance.  Next, a second member of the group, a retired midwife took over CPR and the third member of the group ran to the clubhouse, luckily nearby, where they knew a defibrillator was kept.

The club staff arrived and tried to restart John’s heart with the defibrillator but with no success. The third member of the group then took over CPR and as he had once been a scout master and knew basic first aid, he was confident that he was doing this correctly. However so far, nothing was bringing John back to life. The three friends just continued with the CPR and did not give up.

Luckily, the ambulance station was fairly close to the golf course and the third hole easily accessible. The paramedics arrived and finally managed to revive John.

John has made a full recovery and is back playing golf with his friends. He is still a member of the Newport Probus Club. Because of this frightening experience, the club has recently carried out a CPR Awareness Course led by Ian Hutchinson.

Because cardiac arrests are often associated with older people, it is very important that this group learn how to do CPR. However cardiac arrests are life altering events that can happen to anyone at any age so we all need to be trained in what to do.

Although it is a perfectly understandable reaction, to stand by in a panic and wait for the cavalry to arrive, if we do this, the casualty will probably not survive.

Be ready for anything with CPR

The importance of CPR Awareness cannot be underestimated. As a result John’s Newport Probus Club held a very successful CPR and defibrillator awareness session for 50 of its members at Newport Surf Life Saving Club.

Chief Trainer Guyren Smith and his wonderful group of ‘trainers’ , took Probus Members through the basic first response practice, including demonstrations of CPR on manikins.

Hopefully they will never need to use their new knowledge!

But if they DO come across a similar life-threatening emergency situation they will be better prepared and better able to cope and to assist.

Sincere thanks go to Guyren and his trainers – all part of the Newport SLSC. Their connection to the wider community is certainly valued by the Newport Probus Club.

Thanks also to Ian Hutchinson who founded CPR Friendly after surviving his own sudden cardiac arrest in 2018. Ian is passionate about making as many people as possible aware that they can do something to help save a life in an emergency situation. Ian is also promoting community involvement in funding more defibrillators so that Community access to them is easier. Details can be accessed by going to www.CPRfriendly.org