76 year old cyclist lucky to be alive
Winston Pratt is celebrating his amazing luck and praising the quick response of local medical services.
76 year old Umina resident, Winston Pratt, is celebrating his amazing luck and praising the quick response of a local hero and medical services for his recovery from a major heart attack four weeks ago.
When Mr Pratt, a keen cyclist for over 65 years, made his way to the Adcock Park velodrome in Gosford for a ride recently, he couldn’t have known the circumstances that were about to occur.
“On Sunday morning I went to the Adcock Park velodrome just to have a ride. I got on my bike and had only intended doing an easy 10km ride at an easy pace. I didn’t feel any nausea, any dizziness, any chest pain, nothing. It was perfectly normal, like any other day…that was the last thing I remember,” said Mr Pratt.
Only 200 metres into his ride, Mr Pratt suffered a major heart attack and came off his bike against the fence of the velodrome. Fortunately, Stuart Sutton, a local professional firefighter and volunteer lifesaver was close by and rushed to assist Mr Pratt. Having trained in CPR, Mr Sutton began performing chest compressions, continuing for over 40 minutes while paramedics were called to the scene.
After seven rounds on the mobile defibrillator, Mr Pratt was finally stable enough to be taken to the Emergency Department at Gosford Public Hospital, where he was put on life support and placed in an induced coma for three days before being transferred to Gosford Private Hospital under the care of Cardiologist, Dr James Rogers, and Cardiothoracic Surgeon, Dr Mark Connellan.
“Mr Pratt came to us in a bad way – his heart had sustained significant damage from the heart attack. After his condition stabilised, we performed a quadruple bypass at Gosford Private Hospital and he is now well on the road to recovery. Fortunately for Mr Pratt, we have these resources available locally, and could respond to his needs without him having to be transferred off the Central Coast,” said Dr Connellan.
Today, Mr Pratt is contemplating a slower pace of life, but thankful for the quick response and expert care he received from local medical services.
“The doctors are amazed that I am still here. I’m just progressing slowly; slowly but steadily, I’m feeling better each day. The staff here [at Gosford Private Hospital] have been fantastic, absolutely fantastic. I’m very indebted to everyone involved,” said Mr Pratt.
Read the full story from the Central Coast Express Advocate.
