A WARATAH cardiac arrest survivor has thanked paramedics and his wife for their life-saving intervention.
At around midnight on July 17, 49-year-old Kirk Tattersall was in bed, asleep, when his wife Courtney noticed a change in Mr Tattersall's breathing.
"It sounded like snoring but when I turned the light on he was gasping for air and I could see he wasn't responsive and was quite grey," Ms Tattersall said.
"It was very eerie and very confronting."
Ms Tattersall said her instinct kicked in - immediately calling triple zero and commencing CPR.
"Over the years I've done a lot of CPR courses which helped but nothing can compare to doing it on your own husband or your own family member," she said.
"The ambulance arrived about eight minutes later and they took over and after about 35 minutes we heard the words 'you're okay mate' and to me it was like he was back from the dead."
The first NSW Ambulance paramedics on scene were Anne Nielsen and Chris Streat, who had been completing the paperwork for a job only 800 metres away.
"When we got there his wife was doing absolutely phenomenal CPR on him," Ms Nielsen said.
"He wasn't responsive, no pulse, so we commenced CPR and managed to shock the patient three times.
"[Intensive care] arrived on scene with the LUCAS, the automatic CPR machine, and shocked him two more times and we had him return and was talking to us."
Praising Ms Tattersall's "absolutely perfect" response, Ms Nielsen said the first few minutes after cardiac arrest can be life-saving.
"It's the best CPR I've seen a bystander do in a very long time," she said.
"In my 13 years this would probably only be the sixth [out of hospital cardiac arrest] that's walked our of hospital.
"This is exactly why we do it, to make a difference. CPR for a bystander or a family member is extremely confronting but is the most important thing they can ever do to let us do our job to get a result like this."
While his heart is still only functioning at about 30 per cent, Mr Tattersall said recovery is "slow and steady:.
"Form where I was, I'm going great," Mr Tattersall said.
"Every day is an improvement so I couldn't ask for more."
Mr Tattersall said he teared up when reuniting with first responders on Thursday.
"It's just something I wanted to do - say thank you," he said.
"It still feels like not enough but I'm forever grateful that I'm here.
"I tell [Courtney] everyday. She saved my life with that early intervention."
As a "thank you", the couple gifted each of the paramedics a photo of Mr Tattersall - an avid surfer - the first time he was out on the waves after that night.
"They pretty much got me there to be able to enjoy the open ocean again."
NSW Ambulance inspector Todd Knowles, who was in charge of scene supervision on the night, said of the around 8500 out of hospital cardiac arrest cases seen across the state each year, the survival rate is 12 per cent.
"Without alerting emergency services and without that early CPR, the chances of CPR decrease significantly," Mr Knowles said.
He said it was "humbling" to see Mr Tattersall making a recovery.
"We very rarely actually get to see the patient at the end of their journey," he said.
"The opportunity to actually meet somebody after they have had a really good result is really special."
On the phone to Ms Tattersall in those "crucial" eight minutes before paramedics arrived was triple zero call taker Kristal Forestieri.
"Courtney was just panic stations as you can imagine," Ms Forestieri said.
"Kirk was on the bed so we assessed his breathing and figured out it wasn't effective so we needed to start compressions.
"I needed to calm her down as best I could and help her figure out how to get Kirk from the bed onto the floor and that wouldn't have been an easy task."
With patients in the Hunter waiting longer than ever for an ambulance, according to the NSW Australian Paramedics Association, Ms Forestieri said early intervention and compliance with paramedic's instructions over the phone are vital.
"Wait times at the moment are phenomenal but that's where early recognition, early CPR are so important and it's important for the community be educated on that sort of thing a well."
Ms Tattersall said she has done around six CPR training refreshers, which went a long way on the night.
"You always go through the motions in your head and kind of plan for it but knowing on the day and actually doing it, something just sort of kicks in," Ms Tattersall said.
"While it is confronting and scary all at the same time, I couldn't have done nothing.
"If anyone is even thinking or hesitating about going and doing a course, get out there and do it because it's the best thing you'll ever do."
She said "you can't put into words" how grateful the couple are for the paramedics' efforts.
"You will be forever grateful for what they've done for us and knowing they do it for every other person, on every other day is just incredible."
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