CPR saves life of WA man clinically dead for eight minutes after cardiac arrest

On a warm Friday night in Dampier, a small town on the Pilbara coast, WA, Wickham Wolves captain Gavin Mippy was unknowingly about to play his final game of competitive football.

With over five years of experience in the team, he was selected as captain and ruckman in the night clash with the Dampier Sharks.

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But it wasn’t long into the match when he advanced into the striker’s 50 box and suddenly fell to the ground, suffering cardiac arrest.

His partner Cody Schlink remembers being on the sideline and running to him as he lay lifeless on the field.

“I looked at him and his tongue was hanging out of his mouth,” she said as her eyes started to water.

“I told (the others who were helping), he’s not breathing and… there was no pulse.”

Mippy was clinically dead.

“There were no symptoms leading up to it…it happened so suddenly and quickly…just passed out,” he recalled.

Ms Schlink – who is a nurse – had just completed an advanced life support (AVS) course the day before the incident in WA’s capital Perth, 1,500 kilometers away.

The course focused on cardiac arrest resuscitation.

The day after her training, she – along with several club members and volunteer paramedics – cut off Mr Mippy’s game shirt and began performing CPR.

“I remember going into nurse mode… I think all the ALS was coming back to me at that point,” she said.

After eight minutes of CPR and an electric shock from a defibrillator, Mr. Mippy was brought back to life.

Instead, he was rushed to the hospital.

Coincidentally, it was Mr Mippy’s second cardiac arrest, with the first happening 11 years ago.

Quick response can save lives

According to the Heart Foundation, only between five and 10 percent of people survive a cardiac arrest, but those odds are much higher if CPR or a defibrillator are administered quickly.

“It (cardiac arrest) scared me a lot,” Mippy said.

Three months after the incident, the 50-year-old stopped playing football and hopes to continue at the club as a coach or even as a water boy next season.

But for now, he wants others to understand the importance of being able to provide first aid and life support when faced with an emergency.

“I’d like to try to get this out to the community… train people,” he said.

“Any of these things can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time, anywhere, whether you are unfit or able.

Ms Schlink also advocates for greater knowledge about CPR.

“I just think it’s really important for people in the community to learn CPR, learn first aid and learn how to use a defibrillator,” she said.

“There are defibrillators out there, but no one knows how to use them… in a timely manner.