'Everyone should know CPR': How Taupō man Alister Martin escaped death

Taupō man Alister Martin, 93, (front right ) survived a heart attack thanks to CPR. He is pictured with son Rick and daughter-in-law Jill (back row) and wife Teddy (front left). Photo / L McMichael

Alister Martin doesn't feel lucky to be alive. It goes deeper than that.

"It wasn't luck," Alister says. "It was a blessing."

Luck, blessedness … call it what you will, but it saved the Taupō man's life on the night of August 12, when he suffered a heart attack at his son Rick's home in Taupō.

Alister, 93, remembers nothing of that day but he had driven up to Hamilton with wife Teddy for a specialist appointment and while on their way back to their own Taupō home, they called in to Rick and wife Jill's. Alister had just sat down for a glass of water and a chat. It was 7pm.

"That's when I did my solo performance," chuckles Alister, who can laugh about it now. "It came on like a bolt from the blue, literally."

It was Teddy who noticed that there was something "horribly amiss" with Alister.

"He was sitting there and he put his hands out. I thought he was playing a game and being silly and I said 'stop it' … and nothing moved and that's when we knew something was wrong. Not even his eyes moved."

Alister had stopped breathing. He went white, then blue around the mouth. Rick felt for a pulse and could not find one. For all intents and purposes, Alister was dead.

The trio - Teddy, Rick and Jill - knew it was a serious situation but they stayed calm. Jill rang 111 and the 111 responder told her they had to get Alister down onto the floor and begin CPR. With some difficulty they dragged him down and Jill began the chest compressions.

Jill credits knowing CPR with the St John first aid training she has had to regularly complete as a teacher. Although she now teaches only off and on and her last refresher course was six years ago, she remembered what she needed to do and began, with the responder staying on the line giving instructions.

She says doing CPR is strenuous - good CPR requires the person to push both hard and fast. With the responder telling her to push harder and counting her through the compressions more quickly, she was soon exhausted.

"You have to push enormously hard. You actually have to be able to depress the sternum."

Rick took over and Jill ran next door to fetch their neighbour Cyril Rundle for help, who works at a power station and also knew CPR from workplace first aid.

"We knew what we had to do, but it took three of us to do it."

Rick says what he didn't understand at the time was that CPR replaces the work of the heart and keeps the blood moving to the brain.

"As long as the blood's getting to the brain, the heart's not the critical part. That was quite amazing."

Nik Hancock, 21, with his dad Paul Hancock in October 2019. Paul's life was saved by his fast-thinking son, who knew CPR. Photo / Greg Bowker

Cyril carried on the compressions although everybody was relieved when firefighters and paramedics arrived to take over. Rick estimated between Jill, him and Cyril, they performed CPR on Alister for around 15 to 20 minutes.

The firefighters continued the CPR while the paramedics prepared to defibrillate Alister and the family were escorted into a side room. Two rounds with the defibrillator restored Alister's heartbeat and half an hour later he was well enough to be taken to Taupō Hospital, and stabilised. By 10pm, he was in the Greenlea rescue helicopter being flown to Waikato Hospital's cardiac unit where he was eventually diagnosed with a blocked artery.

He was in Waikato Hospital for two weeks, had three stents fitted and then was brought by ambulance back for a short stay in Taupō Hospital before returning home nearly three weeks ago.

Despite being 93, before the heart attack Alister was in good health - and still is - and had never had any previous heart trouble. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The family say there are so many what ifs in Alister's remarkable survival story. What if he had still been driving? What if Teddy hadn't immediately noticed something was wrong? What if he had been on his own or it had just been the two of them at home, where Teddy didn't know CPR? What if Jill hadn't had first aid and CPR training?

"Everything conspired," says Rick. "The old saying about 'it's not your time' - for everything to have happened the way it happened, it definitely wasn't his time."

The family say they were astounded at the wonderful service by the emergency crews, who took over calmly, and with care and consideration for everyone involved. At the hospital, they were met by more wonderful people, well prepared and knowledgeable about how to care for a heart attack patient.

Jill says they were enveloped with care and gentleness as they waited emotionally in the wings with cups of tea pushed gently into their hands.

The family also praised the skill of the Greenlea rescue helicopter professionals, who flew Alister to hospital and kept him stable during the critical transfer.

But they say the biggest recognition from the whole episode was that their quick actions definitely saved Alister's life. Jill says it shows the value of learning CPR and understanding what to do as quickly as possible.

Workplace CPR training. Alister's daughter-in-law Jill Martin knew CPR thanks to workplace first aid training through her work as a teacher. Photo / File

"How many times do we have the opportunity to do a first aid course or a St Johns Ambulance course and simply flag it away for another year?," Jill says.

"The time this becomes critical knowledge is when one of your own family members literally drops dead before your eyes. No one expects nor prepares you for the shock of this happening in your own home.

"If you get the opportunity to do a first aid course, take it as it may make the difference for someone near and dear to you ... it could save a life."

First aid training, fast reactions and top-notch professional help mean Alister is still here and for that both he and his family are grateful.

Jill puts Alister's survival down to "sheer luck" but her father-in-law has a different way of looking at it.

"Don't say 'lucky'," he says. "Say 'blessed'."