Cardiac arrest survivor shares message he hopes will save more lives

Like many blokes of a similar age, Terry Chaplyn wasn’t too keen on asking for help when he started feeling unwell one morning in January.

Luckily for the 70-year-old former police officer though, his sister Dorothy saw through her brother’s stiff upper lip and made the call to Triple Zero (000).

Within minutes, St John WA paramedics Cecilia Webbe and Connor Halliday were by Terry’s side.

It was just as well.

Realising immediately their patient was having a heart attack, the pair promptly placed Terry into an ambulance bound for Fiona Stanley Hospital on Priority 1.

By the time the ambulance arrived at hospital, Terry had gone into cardiac arrest three times, resulting in three defibrillator shocks that brought him back to life each time.

He needed another shock once he was in hospital.

Now, less than one month later, Terry is fighting fit.

And he has a message to men of his generation: do not wait to call for help.

“I reckon I’m like most blokes,” he said.

“We don’t like asking for help.

“But if it wasn’t for my sister calling the ambulance, and then the two angels who saved my life, I wouldn’t be here.”

Reuniting with his “angels” was important to Terry, who said he had no memory of going into cardiac arrest.

Cecilia and Connor were able to fill in the gaps for Terry, who welcomed the paramedics with flowers to express his gratitude during an emotional reunion just 25 days after meeting them for the first time.

There were flowers for Dorothy, too, for ensuring help arrived as soon as possible.

“All of the steps that led to Terry being in our ambulance at the right time meant that we were able to provide the life-saving interventions when he needed them,” Cecelia said.

“[The reunion] was very emotional. He’s a great guy, and I’m very glad to see such a great outcome.”

Terry is one of the lucky one in ten people who survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

“You don’t have to be unfit to have a heart issue,” he said.

“It can grab anybody.

“Don’t just say ‘she’ll be right mate’.

“Just don’t do it.”

St John WA has more than 11,000 defibrillators registered on the State Defibrillator Network which is managed by the Community First Responder team.