St Leonards grandfather who died three times on way to hospital thanks paramedics one year on

A St Leonards grandfather whose heart stopped three times says people who are experiencing chest pains should never hesitate to call triple-0.

Brendan McDaid with wife Kathy meeting paramedics Chris Wilkinson and Michael Walker who saved his life after he went into cardiac arrest a year ago. Picture: Brad Fleet

Brendan McDaid’s heart stopped three times on the way from his home in St Leonards to Geelong hospital.

He says if the paramedics hadn’t responded so quickly to his triple-0 call he might not be alive now.

The then 75-year-old was working in his garage on August 28 when he had sudden pain that he said felt like a truck was driving over his chest.

“I said to my wife, Kathy, I think I’m having a heart attack but I only said it as a joke,” he said.

However, their daughter-in-law Lisa came to the house and said they should call an ambulance.

Mr McDaid said the ambulance arrived within minutes and his heart stopped three times on the way to the hospital.

MICA paramedic Michael Walker said Mr McDaid went into cardiac arrest shortly after the ambulance left his house.

“They immediately asked for more assistance and commenced resuscitation,” he said.

“They shocked him twice and did six minutes of CPR before they got a pulse back.

“When I arrived as an intensive care paramedic they had just got his pulse back and Brendan was in an altered state.”

Mr Walker said by the time the ambulance arrived at Geelong hospital Mr McDaid was sitting up, talking and joking with paramedics.

Mr McDaid spent 12 days in an induced coma after undergoing bypass surgery and spent three weeks in the intensive care unit.

He then went through eight weeks of rehabilitation.

Mr and Mrs McDaid met with Mr Walker and other paramedics this week to thank them for their work.

“I wanted to thank the paramedics for saving my life and being so efficient,” Mr McDaid said.

“If I had a million dollars I’d send them on a holiday.”

Brendan McDaid with wife Kathy, son Peter and daughter-in-law Lisa thanked paramedics Chris Wilkinson and Michael Walker for saving his life after he went into cardiac arrest a year ago. Picture: Brad Fleet

Mr McDaid said people should not hesitate to call an ambulance if they were experiencing chest pain.

“People should ring triple-0 for any chest pain no matter how small, because, like me, they might not have any other symptoms right until the last minute,” he said.

Mr Walker said it was a great to be reunited with Mr McDaid.

“A key takeaway is if you are feeling any sort of pains in the chest or anything is not quite right then calling an ambulance is the right thing,” he said.

“If he had gone into cardiac arrest at home, his chance of survival would have been much less than it was arresting in the back of an ambulance.

“It shows the importance of learning CPR, too, as every minute without CPR in cardiac arrest leads to a 10 per cent drop in rate of survival.”

Originally published as St Leonards grandfather who died three times on way to hospital thanks paramedics one year on