Northland's Mark Carrell has more bypasses than Spaghetti Junction on the Auckland motorway.
The 53-year-old hockey player has undergone a six-way bypass operation and had a small defibrillator fitted to his heart after he collapsed during a game in Whangarei three months ago.
A purple scar runs down his chest, but apart
from that, he reckons he's "tickety boo".
The Rodney player collapsed with a heart attack and stopped breathing during a game against Kamo High School.
But three bystanders leapt to his aid and started CPR - compressing his chest rapidly and breathing air into his lungs.
Whangarei policewomen Sergeant Vicki Allen and Constable Sue Barrell, with the help of Rodney player and St John volunteer Ralph Correa, managed to keep Mr Carrell alive after he stopped breathing twice during the seven minutes it took for an ambulance to arrive.
But the resilient Carrell has bounced back. He left the hospital clutching a hockey stick and umpired a hockey game 10 days after his heart operation.
Carrell says he's feeling fit - fit enough to umpire a number of games in this weekend's Maori Hockey tournament in Whangarei.
Seven men's and seven women's teams are competing in the three-day tournament.
Carrell will be running the lines pulling up players for any hockey indiscretions.
"The doctors said the bypass worked perfectly. I'm fit as a fiddle now and feeling really positive. I'm feeling physically better than I did before."
Since the operation, Carrell has been walking, swimming and easily managed a spot of fishing.
The former policeman with 28 years experience on the beat has also kept up with the demands of his business - Denby Caterers - after the operation.
"It's all go and I've got great staff who haven't missed a beat."
He thinks his hockey playing days might be over, but there's still plenty of years left as a whistleblower.
The tournament starts tomorrow and the finals are both on Monday - the women's scheduled for 10.45am, while the men hit off at midday.
