Ward: Love + determination = recovery
Ward’s story
Bravery comes in many forms and Ward’s story shows just how far you can go when you are strong in the face of adversity and have the love and the courage of your family to pull you through. Ward was a fitter at Incat Hobart Tasmania where he had worked for 25 years until 2018 and in November 2017 his life was going exceptionally well.
As he says, “November 2017 I was ‘Employee of the Year’, I was a fit healthy 53-year-old married to Susan and have 2 beautiful children. I was lucky enough to give my daughter away at her wedding at the beginning of November”
Sadly December was a different story. On the night of the 4th of December, Ward’s life changed. Complaining of a chest pain which he believed to be indigestion, the first real inkling that there was a major problem was when Susan heard a noise in the kitchen at around 2 am and found Ward lying on the kitchen floor.
Telling Susan he was OK, he managed to get up and started walking to the bedroom. This time he wasn’t so lucky and collapsed, He was dead by the time he hit the floor. Susan was at home with their son Stuart and they acted fast. Susan rang 000 and the emergency operator talked her through CPR. Stuart and Susan worked on Ward for 10 minutes until the ambulance arrived. The paramedics continued for a further 15 minutes. This meant that Ward was not breathing and technically dead for a full 25 minutes. Ward was taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he had an emergency operation and was fitted with a stent.
Love conquers all
The prognosis was bad. The doctors told Susan that he would be left with severe brain damage because his brain was starved of blood for 25 minutes. She was advised that a nursing home was the only option. Things looked bleak. Susan however, is made of sterner stuff. During Ward’s long hospital stay of 9 months, she spent every day at the hospital helping Ward regain his independence.
It’s been a tough job. Ward has had to relearn everything. He couldn’t eat, he couldn’t move, he couldn’t communicate but with Susan’s phenomenal support he slowly began the long road to recovery. As he says, “I have had to learn everything again from sitting up to learning to walk and learning to stand, I cannot remember my life before my cardiac arrest.”
“My goals for the future are to walk again which I have started to do (with a frame) and to try and remember my past. Susan was always taking photos and videos so I am starting to remember bit and pieces.”
Ward says that he is where he is today because. Susan has never given up on him. He owes his recovery to her and to the support of the entire family. With family support and the assistance of carers Scott and Sharleen, every day Ward gets a little better. His cardio doctor says his heart is good and he is on the slow road to recovery. Susan helped him to write down what happened and this is another challenge, “Learning to read and write is another goal of mine, it has been a long hard 19 months but I am getting there.”
Despite this terrible experience, Ward remains upbeat and very happy to be alive, “I would recommend everyone to learn CPR. And never give up. It has been very hard but all worth it.”