Napier man’s remarkable survival after cardiac arrest in carpark
Lee Bullivant can’t remember crashing his car into a stationary ute in a Napier carpark.
He suffered a cardiac arrest during the medical event last September, and almost certainly would have died if not for the actions of a bystander and ambulance officers, who performed CPR and defibrillation at the scene.
Bullivant is now sharing his story as part of Shocktober, an awareness month encouraging people to complete a first aid course and learn vital skills such as CPR and how to use a defibrillator.
Hato Hone St John is promoting its free course, 3 Steps for Life, as part of Shocktober.
To this day, Bullivant, 62, can’t recall the symptoms he felt before his cardiac arrest or the incident itself, which unfolded late morning on September 16 last year.
He was alone in an office at Hawke’s Bay Deaf Club in Taradale, hopped in his car to head to a medical centre, drove out of the carpark, turned on to Lee Rd, then crossed the road and hit a ute in an adjacent carpark.
He later learned he was pulled unconscious from his car and a bystander, a young woman, performed CPR.
An ambulance arrived a few minutes later and ambulance officers took over.
St John ambulance officer Georgia Miller shocked Lee with one defibrillator three times, then used a second defibrillator when another ambulance crew arrived on-scene.
Lee’s heart then started beating again.
He was taken to Hawke’s Bay Hospital in a critical condition and flown to Wellington Hospital, where he remained for six weeks.
“I don’t remember from that day until I woke up in ICU,” he said.
“I had a clot-based heart attack [known as a] Stemi, causing a cardiac arrest, requiring multiple shocks from a defibrillator.
“The tests that were done at the time showed that three of my major arteries were blocked, which was from heart disease.
“[However] prior to the emergency event, I was not aware of having a heart disease.”
Bullivant is deaf, which added an extra challenge to his navigating the hospital process.
He thanked the hospital staff and his whānau for helping in that regard, including arranging sign language interpreters.
Bullivant had stents and an ICD inserted to support his heart and, remarkably, has made a full recovery.
That included recovering from broken ribs, severe bruising and a cut on his chest, most likely from the CPR and defibrillation.
“On the day, I guess I made the right choice to grab the key and get in [the] car - drove, crashed and had people come to my aid.
“If I didn’t ... I would have slumped on the floor next to my desk with no one around.”
No one else was injured during the crash.
Only about 11% of people who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survive 30 days past the event, as urgent medical assistance is required.
Bullivant said people had since told him to buy a Lotto ticket given his remarkable recovery.
He quipped he had – and it hadn’t worked yet.
Last November, Bullivant had the chance to meet and thank the ambulance officers who helped save his life during a special morning tea, including ambulance officer Miller.
He said he’d love to meet the young woman who performed CPR to thank her one day.
A family member has communicated with her previously.
Bullivant is back working again at Deaf Aotearoa and has been given the all-clear to drive again.
People are encouraged to check where their nearest defibrillator is (also known as an AED) in case of an emergency. One way to check locations is at aedlocations.co.nz or the AED Locations app.