Teen Renee Maslak recognised for triple-0 call that saved her best friend’s dad’s life after he suffered a heart attack at Coomera

A teen girl rose to the occasion when a friend’s dad suffered a scary and unexpected medical episode at a Coomera sports field.

Renee Maslak never expected to help save someone’s life, let alone that of her closest friend’s dad.

Leigh Mitchell never expected to have a heart attack either – and definitely not while playing touch football with his daughter’s team.

This week Renee and Mr Mitchell reunited with teammates and the responding paramedic at Coomera Sports Park, where Mr Mitchell had his cardiac arrest, to commend the 15-year-old for her calm lifesaving triple-0 call

Renee, who had never done a first aid course or called an ambulance before, said she appreciated the recognition by Queensland Ambulance Service.

“It’s definitely something that not a lot of people get, obviously,” she said.

“But I’m thankful for all the adults that were there, too, because I didn’t do it by myself.”

Renee Maslak with QAS paramedic Ollie Nicol. Picture: Richard Gosling.

The group sang the praises of the young Logan student, who was 14 when she made the “amazing” call.

Rob Maslak, Renee’s father, said: “We’re very proud of her.”

“I still can’t believe she actually jumped on the phone and was so calm,” he said.

Paramedic Ollie Nicol said ambulance dispatchers were “very impressed” with the clear information Renee gave them.

“Given the stress of the scene and being in an unfamiliar area she did really, really well,” he said.

“It’s important to get emergency care to people as soon as possible, and as I said to Renee that made a difference to Leigh’s outcome.”

Mr Mitchell says he did not see the arrest and subsequent heart attack coming. He only remembers waking up in hospital.

By all measures the 48 year old led a healthy life: playing touch football “three times a week”, eating well and medicating his high cholesterol.

On August 15, the day of the episode, Mr Mitchell was “feeling pretty good”.

“I was running around going flat out (at footy). I set up a couple of tries and then I woke up up in the hospital,” he said.

Longtime teammate Jason Rey said Mr Mitchell collapsed face-first on the field while they played a game with his daughter Emma’s under-14 touch team.

Mr Rey was first to attempt CPR, doing “side chest compressions on (Mr Mitchell) just to get him breathing again.”

“He was sort of gasping and his eyes were rolling back. And then his fingers clenched up and I thought s**t he’s having a heart attack,” he said.

“Then all of a sudden I rolled him over and he went blue and took his last breath. And that’s when we screamed out for Renee to call the ambulance.”

“His veins were black as well … that image is imprinted in my mind.”

(Back) Belinda Mitchell, Leigh Mitchell, Emma Mitchell, Leigh-Ann Wilson, Jason Rey and Sam Power. Front: Renee Maslak and Ollie Nicol. Picture: Richard Gosling.

The team sprang into action, racing for the on-site defibrillators (AED) while club member Sam Power – whose work held a first aid course the day prior – performed full chest compressions.

If they did not act so quickly, Mr Nicol says, Mr Mitchell only had a 10 per cent chance of survival.

But because of his team, and the Coomera Sports Park’s AED, his chance of survival leapt toward 70 per cent.

“Increasing those odds is about having good access to CPR training and defibrillators,” Mr Nicol said.

“When I arrived they had just pressed the button and the AED had delivered one shock, and Leigh had just come back to life.

“Because of that, Leigh is alive today.”

He said the happy reunion shows the importance of having first aid knowledge, and being early to performing CPR and calling triple-0, and the venue having an AED.

Mr Mitchell now has a thick scar running down the middle of his chest – a “zipper” from his emergency bypass surgery – and a pacemaker.

He says he is glad he was at footy when he had his arrest, which, he was later told, was caused by a hereditary heart condition.

“It wasn’t what I was eating, wasn’t what I was doing,” he said.

“If I wasn’t where I was, and they weren’t so quick, it might be a different story.”

Originally published as Teen Renee Maslak recognised for triple-0 call that saved her best friend’s dad’s life after he suffered a heart attack at Coomera