Quick response saves life of East Geelong man David Jeffery

When an East Geelong man started feeling chest pain, he didn’t realise it was life threatening.

David Jeffery meets Dr Sri Adusumalli who performed an emergency stent procedure at Geelong hospital after Mr Jeffery suffered a cardiac arrest. Picture: Alison Wynd

When an East Geelong man started feeling chest pain, he didn’t realise it was life threatening.

David Jeffery had been to the gym an hour earlier on the morning of March 31.

But when the pain got too much, Mr Jeffery’s wife Lara, a Barwon Health nurse, called triple-0.

“She was right onto it,” Mr Jeffery said.

“It only took them about 10 minutes to get here.

“It certainly helps that she went right into nurse mode, maybe somebody who was less experienced might have panicked.”

David Jeffery survived a cardiac arrest after treatment at Barwon Health. Picture: Alison Wynd

Paramedics arrived, followed by a MICA (Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance), with pain relieve administered before Mr Jeffery was taken to Geelong hospital.

He was having a heart attack.

When he arrived, the Cardiac Catheterisation Lab was already prepared and waiting, and by 8:30am a stent had been successfully inserted.

Mr Jeffery was recovering in the Cardiac Care Unit by 9am, all within the “golden hour”, the critical window when fast treatment can prevent irreversible heart damage or death.

“This is how calling triple-0 works, this happens every day for 1000s of people across the country,” he said.

“You tend to only hear about it when it doesn’t work, as opposed to when it does.

“This experience has shown me why having a fully equipped hospital, with highly trained staff nearby matters.

“Seconds count during a heart attack and the only reason I’m here to tell this story is because the right care was available at the right time and in the right place, here in Geelong.”

Mr Jeffery, who also works for Barwon Health, thanked everybody who played an integral role in saving his life, including his wife Lara, who had previously worked as an intensive care nurse for 20 years and knew exactly how to jump into action.

“I want to thank the paramedics, doctors, nurses and my wife for what they did that day,” Mr Jeffery said.

“I want people to understand just how vital it is that our community has local access to advanced, convenient and lifesaving healthcare.”

Mr Jeffery is now on the mend, and said his cardiac rehabilitation is going well.

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Originally published as Quick response saves life of East Geelong man David Jeffery