The man saved by fate ... home with the family who love him

Phil Knipe can't remember anything after he fell to the ground suffering a heart attack - but he does know a bad case of diarrhoea saved his life.
A curious sequence of events involving the 51-year-old service station operations manager, a paramedic with a bad case of the runs, and an emergency toilet stop has led to an amazing tale of survival.
The paramedic made his toilet stop at BP on Maungatapu Rd at the same time Mr Knipe had his heart attack. Instead of going to the loo, the officer saved his life.
Mr Knipe was recuperating at his Matua home today surrounded by his three lovely children Victoria, 10, Michael, 6, Kathryn, 4, and his wife, Helen after a short hospital stay.
He was thankful an experienced paramedic was caught short and called into the service station at exactly the right moment.
"That guy having a tummy problem saved my life. I'm pretty certain I would have died because my heart had stopped completely," Mr Knipe said. He is not the only one who was glad the paramedic was suffering from an unsettled stomach.
"It's good to have daddy here. It's a lot better than having him away," Victoria said. Little Kathryn agreed, adding she "missed daddy and it was good for him to be home".
Wife Helen was also grateful her husband was back in one piece.
"It's been a real eye-opener. Potentially our family could have been ripped apart but we are still together," she said.
Details about last week's brush with death have been passed on to Mr Knipe, who manages about 60 staff at six different BP service stations. He says he can't remember a thing - not even the face of the man who saved his life. "It's all a bit vague but as soon as I can drive, I'm going to buy that man a beer."
The medical hero, who is playing down his role and wants to remain anonymous, said he was simply "in the right place at the right time".
"St John gave me the tools and the skills to do what I had to do to that guy. It's great to know that he isn't six feet under but has another 30 years with his wife and kids," the paramedic said. The Mount Maunganui man had taken a large dose of Vitamin C on an empty stomach to shake off a cold - resulting in an upset stomach.
He was forced to make the unscheduled stop to use a toilet while en route to Tauranga Hospital with a patient.
At that precise time, Mr Knipe was crawling to the workshop, suffering from chest pains and urging workmates to call an ambulance.
No sooner had the staff dialled 111 than the paramedic was seen making a beeline to the service station loo - totally unaware of what was going on.
The paramedic was intercepted and rushed to where Mr Knipe lay on the ground.
The ambulance man said:"I only had one thing on my mind when we pulled up - the toilet."
But when he saw Mr Knipe lying on the floor in cardiac arrest - not breathing and with no pulse - the sprint to the loo was replaced with a sprint to the ambulance.
Last word to Mr Knipe: "I've given up smoking. I want to get fit and eat better."