Mackay great grandfather meets paramedics that brought him back to life

Within eight months, David Evans broke his back, his foot, was diagnosed with dementia and prostate cancer. But it was a sharp pain in his head that nearly brought it all to an abrupt end.

David Evans and his wife Christine Evans met with paramedics Darcy Popp and Nathan Ketelhohn who saved Mr Evans from a cardiac arrest on March 10. Photo: Luke Lay

David Evans is no stranger to danger.

Born in South London in 1943, he survived Blitzkrieg when Nazi bombs rained down on the city for 59 nights in a row. Then as a young boy, he fell ill to a deadly kidney disease called Nephritis back when penicillin “came in litres” instead of “shots”.

In the past eight months alone, the 81 year old has broken his back in a Mercedes accident, broken his foot on a curb and was diagnosed with dementia all while battling prostate cancer.

“I’m still standing upright, I’m still not letting it push me down,” he said,

“I’m still floating above the sea and I’m fine.

“Stubborn bastard I am.”

81 year old David Evans has had a gruelling past eight months, but was still standing strong to greet his “angels”. Photo: Luke Lay

But it all nearly came to an abrupt end when on Monday, March 10, Mr Evans felt a sharp pain shoot to the front of his head before the “lights went out” and he hit the floor.

When he opened his eyes again he saw his wife Christine Evans and the pain returned.

“That feeling I remember very vividly because it was nearly the last thought I ever had. So I said no, get the ambulance.”

Mr Evans didn’t know at the time but he was suffering from a cardiac arrest and he didn’t have long until his heart would stop beating.

With his wife of 60 years, Ms Evans by his side, Mr Evans nursed his throbbing pain for around 15 minutes before his “angels” appeared.

Acting Clinical Support Officer, Darcy Popp was one of the first on scene followed by Critical Care Paramedic Nathan Ketelhohn, both of whom were tasked to keep Mr Evans alive while they rushed him to the Mackay Base Hospital.

But less than a kilometre in, Mr Evans’ heart stopped beating.

After pulling to the side of the road, Mr Ketelhohn and Ms Popp worked to shock Mr Evans’ heart back up again using a pacing method where they mimic the beating of the heart through jolts of electricity.

“His heart stopped beating for about one minute,” Mr Ketelhohn said.

“If it wasn’t for the pacing of the electrical, his heart would have stopped again.”

“It’s not painful, it is horrendously active,” Mr Evans said.

“Even the toes went up and the hair on my head stood up. It doesn’t have far to go mind you but it was all standing up.”

“I’m laying there thinking these blokes are going to break bones doing this.

“It’s very severe. It’s amazing that a human being can take that.”

Against one-in-ten odds of not surviving a cardiac arrest, Mr Evans was safely taken to hospital and put in the hands of nurses while Ms Popp and Mr Ketelhohn went about the rest of their shift, unfazed by what they said was just “part of the job”.

By Wednesday, Mr Evans was back on his feet fixed with a pacemaker - a small battery device implanted in his chest to regulate his heart rhythms - and a mountain of gratitude for the frontline workers that brought him back to life.

Mr Evans hugged Ms Popp upon reuniting with each other. Photo: Luke Lay

Mr Evans reunited with Ms Popp and Mr Ketelhohn last Friday to thank them for giving him another chance at life.

“There’s not enough words in my vocabulary to actually say what you actually feel,” he said.

“There just isn’t. So, I just said thank you very much for the rest of my life and that means I’ve got more.”

Ms Popp said she was glad to see her work bring a positive outcome to someone.

“To have that happen and still be talking to someone at the end of it, and that it’s not a common outcome, it was really nice for us,” she said.

While Mr Evans recalled a gruelling 8 months of near death experiences, he never lost touch of his sense of humour.

“I’ve always been special. They tell me I’m a great grandad but I’ve known I’ve been great for years,” he said.