In the early hours of Sunday 22 September 2024, Bron Preston woke to her husband, Steve, snoring.
But when Bron rolled over to wake him, his eyes were already open, and he was cold to the touch.
Bron quickly realised Steve was in cardiac arrest and dialled Triple Zero (000) for help.
Queensland Ambulance Service’s Emergency Medical Dispatcher (EMD) Vanessa Wilcox provided lifesaving CPR instructions to Bron, while paramedics responded to the Code 1.
While paramedics Ross Nihil, Alexander Ewart and Jason Keen were enroute to the family home, Bron had woken her 21-year-old son Jacob, getting him to help her continue compressions on Steve.
Jacob’s effective compressions were, without a doubt, what saved Steve’s life.
“I was in shock but knew that this was what had to be done, I told myself to keep going,” Jacob said.
“The three paramedics kept communicating with us what they were doing and reassuring us, they were brilliant.
“They filled us with confidence, I was told they had my back and I would be okay.”
The paramedics attached a defibrillator to Steve and provided one shock and were able to achieve Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC), before rushing him to the Princess Alexandra Hospital where he underwent surgery to insert a stent.
Months of rehabilitation later, Steve wrote to the QAS to thank his crew for saving his life and asked for the opportunity to “look them in the eye and shake their hands”.
“I am under no doubt these guys saved my life as I have been told that I am now a part of the 'eight percent' club of survivors who have come back after a cardiac event in the home, and for this I will be forever grateful,” Steve said.
So, on Saturday 1 February this year, Steve along with Bron and Jacob to had the opportunity to meet Ross, Alexander and Jason at the Beenleigh Ambulance Station.
Jason described the chain of events that went into Steve having the best possible outcome, allowing him to stand face to face with his QAS team.
“Seeing Steve and his family continue to enjoy life without any notable deficits is a rare and wonderful experience for myself and the team and having such an outcome truly defies all the odds stacked against Steve,” Jason said.
“In Steve’s case we saw one miracle after another, to have suffered an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, respond to treatment, have a return of his own heartbeat, and then be successfully stabilised for transport was one thing.
“To then be immediately admitted to an interventional cardiologist along with the entire surgical team assembled so quickly in the middle of the night to open the blocked blood vessel in his heart is truly remarkable.”
Jason noted both Bron’s and Jacob’s efforts significantly aided the paramedics’ work.
“All of this wouldn’t have been possible without the family’s successful implementation of the chain of survival,” Jason said.
“Without Bron’s early recognition and Triple Zero (000) call, or Jacob’s CPR buying Steve’s heart and brain time for paramedics to arrive, there is no doubt in my mind Steve wouldn’t have survived his medical emergency.
“The first paramedics on scene, Ross and Alexander, performed expertly, taking a mere two minutes from parking the ambulance to performing defibrillation.
“It was truly strong work all round.”
Steve and his family are now advocates for the community to learn CPR and first aid, as this is what has bought Steve more time to spend with his loving family.