A REGULAR at his local Lake Macquarie pub, Geoff Willbrands was in the beer garden with mates on a Saturday afternoon when he suddenly collapsed and fell from his chair.
A mine safety worker and a navy diver just happened to be inside Hotel Wangi on May 12, and answered the call for help.
"He had no pulse, and they started doing compressions," venue owner Peter Coyne said.
Mr Coyne has been at the pub for about 27 years and had just six months earlier bought a defibrillator, which Jed Fatches and Jayson Field used to save Mr Willbrands' life.
Meanwhile, a registered nurse nearby heard her phone ping with a message from the GoodSAM app alerting her that someone needed urgent assistance while waiting for an ambulance, and she arrived within 10 minutes.
"The boys had him back ... he was back with us after about 16 minutes," Mr Coyne said.
Paramedics arrived a couple of minutes later and took Mr Willbrands to hospital for treatment.
"He was good as gold, except for a few cracked ribs," Mr Coyne said.
Mr Willbrands reunited with his lifesavers Mr Fatches and Mr Field, along with Mr Coyne and Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper, at Hotel Wangi on Friday.
Mr Coyne said the stars had aligned for Mr Willbrands that day - it was a surprisingly busy Saturday afternoon at the pub, he'd sat down moments earlier to have a sip of his beer, and there was an accessible defibrillator.
"We also happened to have two people here who jumped into action, and were calm, and knew what they were doing," he said.
"The live unabridged version is very different [to first-aid training], let me tell you."
Mr Coyne urged any venue that could to have a defibrillator on hand, and said it was important for people to know where they could access one if needed.
