Pindara Private Hospital’s Workplace Health and Safety Coordinator, Ian Fabian, has described his colleagues as “superheroes” after they came to his rescue when he suffered a cardiac arrest while at work.
“It was a Monday, I remember I’d just come back from a meeting and I was sitting at my desk, I was feeling OK,” says Ian.
“The next thing I know, I woke up being pushed along on a hospital trolley, there were cables coming out of me, and I recognised some of the ICU staff.
“I remember just thinking: ‘this can’t be right’, and that’s when they explained to me that I’d just had a stent put in and a significant blockage cleared after having a cardiac arrest at my desk.”
Luckily for Ian, two of his colleagues, Clinical Nurse, Joanne Campbell and Clinical Nurse Educator, Jessica-Bree Farlow were in the corridor near Ian’s office when he went into cardiac arrest. The pair helped him to the ground and Joanne worked on getting access to Ian’s chest for pads to shock him, while Jessica began CPR.
Another staff member called a code blue and the advanced life support team arrived quickly with a defibrillator.
After being shocked twice, and having six rounds of CPR, Ian was moved to the cardiac catheterisation lab where a cardiologist was waiting.
“I was in the right place at the right time,” Ian said.
“I’m eternally grateful to everyone involved on that day. I was one of the lucky ones.”
Pindara Private Hospital CEO, Mark Page said he vividly remembers hearing the code blue call while in a meeting.
“I remember hearing the code blue call to Ward 1A, and immediately thinking ‘that’s a staff area’,” Mr Page said.
“All patient stories are powerful but when they’re close like this, when that patient is one of us, it amplifies to me what I already know about how amazing our team here is. It’s not just about the advanced life support team and doctors and nurses, everyone who dived in to help, including moving furniture to clear space, they all played a part in saving Ian’s life.
“I’m so proud of the readiness of our people to react, whether it be to a staff member or to a patient.”
Ian is now back at work at Pindara Private Hospital and has become a firm advocate for the benefits of learning CPR. He is also urging others, especially those with a family history of heart disease, to be vigilant about warning signs.
“This just highlights the importance of knowing CPR. It could be needed at work, at home, in the community. If it weren’t for the people around me knowing how to do it, I wouldn’t be here now,” he said.
“Also, if you have any warning signs, particularly if you have family history of heart disease, go and get a check-up. I have a healthy diet, I exercise regularly, but I do have a family history and there were some warning signs, like shortness of breath and light-headedness, that in hindsight I should have acted on.”
