Michael: Young marathoner wins fife
Michael’s story
Many of us believe that a cardiac arrest only happens to older people who may be not as fit as they once were, but nothing could be further from the truth. Michael is only 23 years old, a trained physiotherapist in the prime of life and he is passionate about sport and fitness. He was running in a half marathon when suddenly he collapsed at the finishing line. He had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and now his life was in real danger.
Sudden cardiac arrests do not discriminate between age and fitness and can affect anyone including young fit people without any warning at any time. Michael did not know what was happening but luckily he managed to stumble up to the St John’s volunteers before collapsing in front of them.
Michael owes his life to their prompt action. They immediately began carrying out CPR while another St John’s member ran to the NSW ambulance crew. The ambulance crew were on the scene within minutes and gave him two shocks with the defibrillator which re started his heart.
Michael owes his life to quick action
Michael was given CPR for two minutes by the volunteers and this was enough to save his life. With a sudden cardiac arrest every second is precious so it is crucially important to act immediately. If you wait for the medics to arrive it will probably be too late.
As Michael says, “my advice to anyone having someone collapse in front of them is that it’s better to try CPR than to do nothing. If no one gave it a go, I'd be dead now.”
Michael has made a full recovery. After getting his health checked over he discovered that he does get occasional heart palpitations and that an aunt suffers from sudden ventricular tachycardia (SVT), a condition where the heart sometimes suddenly beats faster than usual but is not actually a dangerous condition. These mild heart conditions are not dangerous so there were no warning flags at all about a potential life threatening heart condition.
Since Michael’s close brush with death, he has resolved to live life to the full. He has taken up lots of new interests including painting and learning Spanish and is planning a trip to South America. He says that he makes more time now to enjoy hanging out with his friends. He has even began running again although he does not push himself in the way that he once did.
The prompt action of the St John’s Ambulance undoubtedly saved Michael’s life and as he says, he has a lot to be thankful for.
“Almost dying and being given a second chance at life might turn out to be a gift as it has given me a renewed zest for life!”
Without CPR, this happy ending could have been so different.