Heart attack victim thanks ‘miracle’ for after Frankston roadside revival
Congestion on our roads may be an ongoing issue, but a woman says she “would have died” if she — and the people behind her — hadn’t have been stuck in bumper-to-bumper gridlock in Frankston.
South East
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A Mt Eliza woman who suffered a roadside cardiac arrest 10 minutes before a doctor’s appointment has thanked a “miracle” for her survival.
Manuela Ferstl, 57, remembers “feeling dizzy” before she was brought back to life in a dramatic resuscitation effort outside Bunnings on McMahons Rd, Frankston on September 30.
The mother-of-two and pottery teacher was being driven by her son, Angus Redfearn, 25, to an appointment she had scheduled after fainting inexplicably at home.
“I was fine and we were chatting away in the car as usual and then I said ‘Angus, I’m feeling dizzy again’,” Ms Ferstl said.
“Then I turned blue.”
Mr Redfearn — who completed a CPR course two weeks before the incident — pulled his lifeless mother out of the car and started resuscitation.
And luck was on their side — St John Ambulance patient transport officers Brendan Branagan and Anita Ung were stuck in traffic behind them. The pair raced to the scene with a defibrillator.
Within minutes, Ms Ferstl’s heart was beating again and she was transported to Frankston Hospital where she remained for testing for almost two weeks.
“If Angus didn’t complete CPR and kept my blood pumping before St John’s staff used the defibrillator, I probably would have got brain damage,” Ms Ferstl said.
Doctors have been unable to pinpoint a trigger for Ms Ferstl, who never showed any symptoms and followed an active lifestyle through regular line dancing and a plant-based diet.
“They said it was a freak incident,” Ms Ferstl said.
She has returned to running pottery classes from home and has commenced weekly active classes at Frankston Hospital.
Last month, she said a big thankyou to lifesavers Mr Branagan and Ms Ung in a heartfelt reunion with other patients.
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“The officers were amazing and I am so proud of Angus,” she said.
“It’s a miracle, it just wasn’t my time to go.”
With a 90 per cent fatality rate, sudden cardiac arrest is one of the leading causes of death in the country.
Chances of survival decrease by up to 10 per cent with every minute that passes without a defibrillator shock.