Ian Reeves will be forever grateful for the quick action of his wite Kim, along with his local ambulance and first aider mates at Tutukaka following a heart attack.
It was their prompt actions and quick assessment that ensured the Northland Rescue Helicopter arrived in good time at Tutukaka Marina in July 2023, where Ian was stabilised before being flown to Auckland Hospital for urgent cardiac attention.
Three stents were quickly inserted, followed by three more five weeks later after a stint back at home.
“My assessment is that my heart would have been further damaged and I would have had a longer recovery had the Northland Rescue Chopper not been there to take me to Auckland Hospital,” says Ian.
Ian was lying in bed and about to get up on the morning of July 25, 2023, when he began feeling a bit off colour and sweaty.
“There was a heaviness in my chest but I would call it an ache – not a pain. I also felt a bit short of breath and my left jaw had an ache. It was a strange sensation and I had never felt anything like it. There was no stabbing pain and no obvious symptoms of cardiac arrest but I said to my wife Kim that I am having a heart attack,” explains a sprightly and healthy-looking Ian, a year after the incident.
An ambulance arrived within half an hour, while Kate Malcolm – Dive Tutukaka owner and a generous Northland Rescue Helicopter sponsor – arrived with a defibrillator and oxygen in case it was needed.
Hato Hone St John worked on Ian but the problem did not resolve, so the Northland Rescue Helicopter was called and landed in the car park by the boat ramp in Tutukaka Marina. By that time Ian was surrounded by a multitude of friends, keeping an eye him.
He was flown directly to Auckland Hospital and taken straight into triage, where he had three stents inserted.
Ian says the care he received at Tutukaka, in the Northland Rescue Helicopter and at Auckland Hospital was superb.
The former lawyer says he has long been aware of our Northland Rescue Helicopters and views it as an essential service for the community and visitors to Northland.
“Everyone I talk to who have had access to a Northland Rescue Helicopter speak highly of the service. It is a very high-profile service and it gives you confidence that it can get you to Auckland quickly to handle the bigger health issues that need urgent attention.
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