Paramedic knows St John benefits first hand

Andrew Burt's 'indigestion' turned out to be a heart attack. Photo / Brett Phibbs

If anyone was to know his life was in danger it should have been paramedic Andrew Burt.

But the 49-year-old admits he was a "bloke in denial" and ignored the chest pains.

"I have been trained with medical knowledge and I still thought I had indigestion," Mr Burt told the Herald.

In fact, he was suffering a heart attack and only the quick thinking of his colleagues saved his life.

Mr Burt told his story to help promote the St John Ambulance appeal week.

The team leader at the Botany ambulance station drove to work to pick up his ambulance in spite of the chest pains.

On arrival, he told his colleagues about the pains and they bundled him into an ambulance, taking him straight to Middlemore Hospital.

Minutes after his arrival, Mr Burt suffered a cardiac arrest in the resuscitation room and was brought back with CPR and defibrillator shocks.

He was transferred to Auckland City Hospital, where he had surgery to insert three tubes, or stents.

Four days later, he was recovering at home thinking about how lucky he was to be alive and realising how fortunate he had been to be working that day.

"I would have ignored it if I hadn't been working," Mr Burt said. "Five days before, I was playing golf in Te Kauwhata and before that biking in Hahei."

Mr Burt said he thought he was fit and healthy, as paramedics needed a high level of fitness. Two years on, he has had to make some life changes.

"I have had to have a review of what I eat, everything I do. It could really happen to anyone."

St John regional operations manager Murray Holt said many people did not realise St John was a charity.

"We are calling for donations now so we can be there for you in your community when you need us most. It's that simple."

Last year, St John responded to almost 150,000 callouts in the Auckland region - up 5.2 per cent on 2010. In the first three months of this year alone, St John answered more than 35,000 callouts in the region.

WHAT YOUR MONEY CAN PROVIDE

* $10: Six wound-dressing packs
* $15: Box of 200 disposable gloves
* $500: 90 doses of life-saving medicine
* $2000: A combi carrier stretcher

HOW TO DONATE

* 0800 ST JOHN (0800-785-646)
* www.stjohnappeal.org.nz