Hervey Bay teen Xanthe Brady suffers heart attack while driving

A seemingly healthy 17-year-old Qld girl was driving to the gym when she suddenly lost her vision and started having a seizure. Her brave mum and hero ambos had a fight on their hands.

A Hervey Bay teenager who needed CPR and a defibrillator after a freak heart attack behind the wheel has reunited with the paramedics who helped saved her life.

17-year-old Xanthe Brady was on her way to the gym on January 28, 2025 when an unthinkable emergency for the seemingly healthy teenager unfolded in her family’s car.

The teen said she lost her eyesight before having a seizure in the driver’s seat, with her fast-acting mother, Tanya, taking control of the and pulling the car over on Deloraine Ave, Urangan.

Mrs Brady pulled her incapacitated daughter out from the driver’s door and began CPR on the footpath with help from her neighbours as she waited for paramedics to arrive.

The Brady family and all first responders, including members of the QFD.

“I went straight into fight,” Mrs Brady said.

“I had no time to cry. It was just get her out of the car, CPR, get her into the ambulance, and then they took over.

“I just remember her getting shocked (defibrillated).”

A healthy teenager who had gone through appendix surgery only days before the episode, Xanthe said she had experienced some chest pains in the lead up to the incident, but never suspected what was coming next.

Xanthe was rushed to the Hervey Bay ICU before being transferred via helicopter to the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane.

She had a balloon inserted into her heart to get it pumping again and also received an implant monitor to support those functions.

She was placed in a coma for five days before waking up, completely unaware of the time she was unconscious or the heart attack itself.

Kayla with the first two paramedics on scene, Roy Grover and Raymond Joy

The Brady’s got the opportunity to thank the first responders on Tuesday morning by reuniting with the paramedics and firefighters who first attended the scene at the Torquay Ambulance Station.

“They were absolutely brilliant,” she said.

“They flew at record speed to get to us.

“Everyone was there within five minutes.

“I can’t be thankful enough.”

Xanthe had a multiple surgeries while in the Hervey Bay and Prince Charles ICU's.

Matthew Steer, the officer in charge of QAS Hervey Bay, reminded the public this was a great time to get first aid and CPR training done.

“There’s no understating how important it is to have people in the community who can do CPR,” Mr Steer said.

“It buys us time and gives us the opportunity to have the outcomes like we ‘ve had with Xanthe.

Mrs Brady agreed CPR was important in making sure her daughter survived, stating she has her qualifications from working in a school administration role.

“If you haven’t learnt CPR, go out and learn it tomorrow,” she said.

“It is worth saving people’s lives.”