How hero dog Frankie saved his owner John Carnevali’s life

THE Carnevalis don’t usually let their dog sleep on their bed — but a decision to let Frankie up on a Saturday night saved John’s life.

THE sound of scratching in the early hours woke Melissa Carnevali.

Her husband John didn’t usually let Frankie, their four-year-old Cavoodle, sleep on the bed but it was Saturday night so they made an exception.

“John?” she whispered. No reply.

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The whisper became a scream, so loud it woke the couple’s son.

Melissa knew her husband had 11 stents in his heart after already surviving two heart attacks.

Dog Frankie saved his owner John Carnevali. Picture: David Caird

She began to panic. Melissa turned on the light and saw Frankie clawing at John’s chest.

Her husband was blue, and medically dead.

The 45-year-old father had suffered what doctors call the “widow-maker” — an irregular heartbeat which results in cardiac arrest.

There is a five to 10 per cent chance of survival.

Melissa began CPR and fought to save her “soulmate”.

It was 22 years since she locked eyes with him on the dance floor of a Geelong nightclub. Surely this wasn’t the end?

Paramedics arrived and fought for two hours to keep John alive. “Pray, you need to pray,” one said as John was loaded into the ambulance.

The young father’s brain had been without oxygen for 20 minutes.

Doctors say John Carnevali suffered a massive heart attack and a stroke. He was placed in an induced coma and Melissa was told he likely wouldn’t be coming home.

“He really shouldn’t be here,” one doctor said.

“We just don’t see people survive this.”

Frankie with John Carnevali and his with wife Melissa and son Hunter 11. Picture: David Caird

For weeks in hospital nurses found Melissa curled up next to John on his tiny, uncomfortable bed.

Early on when the prognosis was grim, John would sometimes squeeze her hand and Melissa would close her eyes and forget where she was, even if only for a moment.

Among dozens of notes from friends and family next to John’s hospital bed was one from his 11-year-old son Hunter: “I don’t want you to go back to hospital for 1000 years!”.

Now, nine weeks later John is back home against all the odds. He sits on his couch with Frankie in his lap and Hunter beside him.

“She saved me, Frankie straight up saved my life. She never left my side the whole time,” he says.

Melissa says: “John has got this innate fighting spirit.”

“I am in awe of him for how he has handled this and it’s has made us all stronger,” she said.

John, who loves the outdoors and rode a motorbike, has had to relearn to walk, talk and use the bathroom unassisted.

His long-term memory is still patchy and the part of the brain that regulates his short term memory has been severely damaged.

“He can become easily confused and repeats himself throughout the day. He requires 24-hour supervision for his own safety and no doubt there are lifelong challenges ahead,” Melissa said.

Still, doctors never thought he would make it this far. “Doctors couldn’t give me a proper prognosis because they kept saying that they never see this, it was so rare for someone to still be alive,” she said.

John in hospital with Frankie and Hunter.

Frankie saved John’s life.

It’s not the first time the Carnevali family has faced tragedy. Hope Carnevali, John’s niece was one of the 10 people to die during the 2016 Melbourne thunderstorm asthma event.

The 20-year-old law student died in her family’s arms while waiting for an ambulance on her front lawn.

Melissa was lucky to survive a pulmonary embolism and almost lost her life giving birth to their son Hunter. Born at just three pounds, basketball-mad Hunter also has a heart condition that will likely require a stent and he also has autism. But the Werribee community has rallied around the Carnevali family.

John has spent much of his life investing in them. He is the coach of Hunter’s basketball team and sits on local committees and sporting groups.

“He is the type of person that will stop and talk to people in the street,” Melissa says.

A GoFundMe page set up by members of the community has reached $32,310.

“I just want to prove people wrong, they tell me I can’t do something and it ignites something in me and I want to do it more,” John said.

“I want to get back to work and I can’t wait to be able to play with my son again.”

But Melissa said the chances of John returning to work were low. “We are going to be a single income family at this stage, any support we can get is so important — the support we have had so far has been overwhelming.”
Family hero Frankie will sleep on the bed every night from now on, Melissa said.

“I look at them both every day and I am incredibly grateful,” she said.

“I feel like after this, we can get through anything.”

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