By Abbey Cannan
An early phone call to Triple Zero (000) born out of concern may have saved the life of Harold Greenway when he suffered a heart attack at his Traveston home on 6 January 2021.
After a morning of manual labour left Harold with a heavy chest and feeling lethargic, his partner Christine sensed something was amiss and made the decision to call for help. This action proved crucial as within 45 minutes, Harold was in cardiac arrest receiving shocks from a defibrillator in the back of an ambulance.
Christine said she became concerned after Harold came out of the shower and fainted.
“That’s when I knew there was definitely something wrong,“ she said.
“The adrenaline kicked in and I just did what I had to do. He kept saying all he wanted to do was go to sleep and I said you’re not going to sleep, not on my watch.
“These paramedics are the superheroes in green.“
Upon arrival, paramedics realised Harold was having a heart attack and quickly loaded him into the ambulance. The ambulance hadn’t even started the journey to hospital when he went into cardiac arrest, requiring three shocks from a defibrillator to bring him back.
The relief was short-lived, as he would deteriorate into cardiac arrest several more times, requiring an extraordinary effort from paramedics to keep him alive. In the end it would also take a rescue helicopter and thrombolysis, a procedure using medication to break down blood clots, to ensure Harold arrived at Sunshine Coast University Hospital to receive further care.
Harold was emotional as he recalled what he remembered from the day.
“They (paramedics) were working on me for a couple of hours,“ he said.
“The helicopter came and they loaded me on that and took me down to SCUH. It was only a few minutes I was in surgery and they put a stint in me which was amazing. I was in hospital for five days before they released me. I’ve been up ever since.“
Harold said without the paramedics, he wouldn’t be here.
“I just thought I had indigestion, so it was lucky that Christine called the ambulance,“ he said.
“I’ve cheated death a few times in my life.“
Pomona paramedic Brad Bischoff, the first officer on scene, described Harold’s successful outcome as one of the highlights of his career. Adding another incredible factor to this case is the phenomenon of CPR-induced consciousness, meaning at times Harold was awake while in cardiac arrest due to the effectiveness of the CPR.
