Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate tells how he saved his wife Ruth’s life after heart attack
IT was 3am in the Changi General Hospital when the specialist told Mayor Tom Tate his wife might not make it. For the first time, he’s explained in detail how it all happened.
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IT was 3am in the Changi General Hospital when the specialist told Mayor Tom Tate his wife might not make it.
Fresh from a CPR course, and with the assistance of two airport staffers, Cr Tate had spent an agonising 25 minutes on the floor of Singapore Airport trying to resuscitate the heart which had loved him devotedly for almost four decades.
A heart which needed to be shocked back into life seven times by a defibrillator before the beat was restored.
TATE ‘BLESSED’ AFTER SHOCK HEALTH SCARE
“We had a one on one talk and they gave me what they said was the ‘realistic scenario’ but I wasn’t willing to accept that,” Cr Tate said.
How could a heart which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity, a heart which has stood by him through the stress and scrutiny which comes with public office be stopped dead?
The couple were supposed to be bound for a self funded study tour in Europe including a Mediterranean cruise.
Cr Tate thought Ruth had merely tripped over as she pushed a baggage trolley towards their departure gate.
“I went down to pick her up and saw she was gasping for air,” Cr Tate said.
“Shortly after I checked her pulse and there was no pulse so I rolled her over and started doing CPR.
“It’s hard to describe the feeling when someone you have loved for 37 years doesn’t have a pulse.
“But once you’re trained in first aid you don’t hesitate.
“It was amazing how it all came back. You’re not panicking and no one else is panicking because you all know exactly what to do.”
The Mayoress was placed into an induced coma using a process called hypothermia protocol where her body was cooled to 33 degrees.
It was then that the doctors began running tests and performing procedures — brain scans, an angina surgery and a search for pulmonary blockages of her lungs.
The tests came back clear but the doctors feared the Mayoress’s brain had been deprived of oxygen.
“When I touched her she was as cold as ice and to look at her there was no response,” Cr Tate said.
“But I knew she was a fighter. So this is when I started ringing the church pastors on the Gold Coast and they had prayer vigils going on.
“The doctors told me not to expect much. But with the power of prayer we got her back.”
After three days Singaporean doctors decided to arouse Mrs Tate from her coma.
“After a while she moved her hand,” Cr Tate said.
“It looked like she wanted to scratch her leg. My son said to her, ‘Are you itching?’ But she shook her head.
“I said, ‘Do you want to write?’ We gave her some paper and she wrote this word ‘Yankauer’ but we thought she’d just written nonsense.”
But she hadn’t.
Not only was Mrs Tate awake but the highly trained physical therapist was giving instructions to the medical team to tell them she wanted them to use the Yankauer suction tool to help clear her throat.
It was a miracle.
“Don’t take things for granted mate. Tell your loved ones you love them every single day,” Cr Tate said.
“We are taking one day at a time for now. We realise we have been given a blessing.”
Mrs Tate is now recovering in a Gold Coast hospital. Medical staff have praised the care she was given in Singapore and expect her to make a full recovery.
CPR FOR ALL
Mayor Tom Tate will urge federal Education Minister Simon Birmingham to ensure all Australian school students are taught CPR.
“The main message I have for the Gold Coast community is to encourage people to do CPR training,” Cr Tate said.
“My wife is a very private person but she is allowing me to share her story for that reason.
“We need to start as young possible, including in schools.
“I’ll be writing to education minister to encourage him to have a look at that as part of the curriculum. From personal experience if we can save another life then mate that’s worth it.”
To perform basic CPR on an adult place the patient on a firm surface and put the heel of one hand on the lower half of the sternum with your other hand on top.
Compress the chest to one third depth at a rate of 100 to 120 compressions per minute.
Do two breaths every 30 compressions.
Find out how you can learn first aid at firstaidae.com.au ambulance.qld.gov.au or stjohnqld.com.au
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