Alrighty then, this is the story of (another one of the times) i died
some of you may know that i go surfing nearly every friday, that is my only day off really, so i try to make the best of it & so this day was no different, so me & my girl Marly were out the gate at about 6am & on our way to a place called "The Pass" , in Byron bay, so named because there is a big rocky outcrop thingy sitting just off the coastline inside the bay & the surf can come through "The Pass" inbetween,,, & there`s wooden stairs that lead up to a board-walk along the top of the rocky outcrop, called the "Fishermans lookout" & it`s usually very popular viewing spot, awesome wonderful beautiful place really
anyways, i normally paddle out & sit on my board right out the back, past the last rocky bit, & let everyone have some waves before i start, & this day was no different
i always say hello to my Mum & my grandma & my grandad when i get there because all their ashes are mingled together in these waters so it`s a pretty special place for me & also has some pretty awesome spiritual presence about it for many many other reasons
this day there was a Big Whale sitting about 50ft away from me, which was a little weired because in 30 odd years of surfing here i`ve never seen them so close in before, so it was pretty cool & very relaxing
I paddled into my first wave, nice, neat, small but well shaped & good fun, great for a starter & you could see about 20 other people spread out along the Pass`s 200-300 meter long wave line-up, so pretty normal number for the Pass on a friday morning, the weekends get very crowded here because it really is such a nice place
anyways, i pull out of that wave & start the long paddle back, & finish up back where i normally sit, right out the back, past every one & i just sit there waiting for a while , letting the few guys close by have some waves, just loving being alive & breathing... but slowly i feel some tight-ness in my chest,,, a bit like i`ve paddle too hard or some thing & my muscles are tight & sore, breathing gets short & fast, pain increases... Hhhmmm i`m not happy with the feelings i`m getting here, so i figure i best paddle onto the next wave, ride it in & sit on the beach just in case it`s a heart attack or something stupid like that (as if sitting on the beach will help anyways)
Now before i could paddle 10 feet the pain is just cranking, absolutely cranking!!! it really has quadruppled & i`m starting to buckle up, very little energy to paddle now & struggling to stay on the board,,, dizzy as hell, pain is like a semi-trailer loaded with steel pipes rolling over the top of my chest, can hardly breath now, all my thoughts turn to me not being able to make it to the beach & why the fark did i cancel my life insurance last week
so i indicate with my finger to the next guy to come over (Lucky as because "Normally" no one sits out so far with me, i`m "Normally" miles away from everyone) & he says "are you ok mate" as he paddles over & i say "Nah, i`m struggling mate, i think i`m having a heart attack"
So he says it`s cool mate, i`ve got ya, & he calls out to some other guys
(because i can`t,,, i can hardly speak, no energy, no oxygen, no speak)
& then he yells out to the one person ontop of the fishermans lookout to call an ambulance "He`s having a heart attack"
(& lucky as again, because there`s not "usually" anyone at the fishermans lookout that early on a friday morning, hardly anyone does anything before about 9am in Byron, & lucky he was there & lucky he could speak english & lucky he had a mobile phone)
a heap of guys (about 6) paddle over & grab me & begin the 10min paddle back into shore, with me all dizzy & hardly breathing, buckling under with the pain now sooo intense that i`m thinking drowning is a damn good option here the pain really was that bad,,, i then start this wild convulsive vomiting thing, & crickey why didn`t i just fall off my board earlier , things certainly would have been a lot easier... this has gone real bad & we`re only aout half way in.
i try to say to the boys to see if they can find Marly, on the big white 'town & country" 10ft board, i try to say how sorry i am to put them all to this bother & they keep saying it`s ok mate, we`re nearly there & so i keep on convulsing & vomiting & writhing in pain
So, we land on the beach, they drag me up to the bank, when suddenly a Paramedic walks past (How Lucky is that????!!!!) & starts telling everyone what to do, organising things, next thing a dive-boat arrives & they have this "angel-spray" stuff & of course they have oxygen, 2 of the very best things for this very situation.... you couldn`t bet on this dstuff happening
within 5 mins the amulance drives in, you see they were just dropping a patient off around the corner at Wategos beach,,, man they could have been half way to Balina or Murwillumbah ,,, wild hey?
so i`m stuffed into the back & Marly too & off we go to the Byron hospital,,, bung me onto the bench just in time to arrest, flat line, no breathing, no pulse,,, Marly watched as my eyes rolled back & it was goin goin gooooone,,, some lady (Jannine) decides she`s not having anyone die on her watch so jumps ontop of me & pounds away, & they de-fib with the jumper leads , a little choke & i`m fired back up again,
they throw me into the ambulance again because theyve worked out that they can`t fix me in the Byron hospital , the closest place for this artery treatment is the John Flynn hospital about half an hour away
so at about 500 hundred million miles an hour we head towards John Flynn, & about half way there i convulse & vomit again & again, blood pressure dropping & i`m goone again, they zap me again & give me adrennalyn & i`m back, just in time as we drive into John Flynn, where , as it turns out this one doctor Guy Wright smith is apparently "The man" for angyograms & fitting stents into arteries,,,well he wasn`t meant to be there, he was just dropping in to pick up some notes from another patient, so he`s already set-up & bang, just as i land on their bench i`m about to drop off the planet again & the stent is fitted & i`m sorted
They then have some arrangement where any public patient goes to the Tweed hospital because the John Flynn is private, so i`m into the ambo again & off to the Tweed
Marly sorts out with her sister & Matty Archer to come get her & our car & our day is done
5 days in the CCU (Coronarly care Unit) where they woudln`t even let me stand up or walk, for fear of having another heart attack, as i have another artery 90% blocked, & yet to be repaired
all this from an hereditary blood clotting dissorder
Cheers, Mick
