Grant Stirling feels luckier than lucky to be alive.
“It’s pretty surreal knowing two strangers saved my life,” he says.
Grant was in the shower at Riverside Pool after having a swim in the lanes with his 15-year-old stepson on Tuesday, 9 July when he had a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the floor.
Although he remembers nothing more than pulling into the carpark that morning, he knows two complete strangers saved his life.
Riverside lifeguard David Edwards was alerted by Joe Waller, who was in the changing rooms at the same time. David and fellow lifeguard Aaron Douglas sprang into action, performing CPR and using a defibrillator to shock Grant’s heart back to life.
Over the coming weeks, Grant received a triple bypass and had a mini defibrillator inserted that will sit permanently under his skin for the rest of his life.
“It was pretty brutal; I was a bit unfortunate as I had partial lung collapse in surgery, so it slowed down my recovery and I was in pain for a lot longer,” Grant says.
The first thing he remembers after collapsing is being told he’d had a cardiac arrest.
“I thought this can’t be right, I’m fit.
“There was a lot of structural damage, surgery-wise the nuts and bolts were smashed over a bit,” Grant says of the ordeal.
His wife Inge, a flight attendant, was sitting in a meeting in Auckland when she began getting phone calls from multiple numbers. Her Air NZ managers held a flight at Auckland Airport and had her at Grant’s side just over an hour later.
Grant knows he wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the quick actions of all involved. He says he is slowly feeling stronger every day, but they now have other battles to face besides his health.
A photographer for a living, Grant won’t be able to hold a camera in front of him for some months yet, and won’t be allowed to drive for at least six months.
Small tasks, or a short walk on flat ground has him on the couch for the rest of the day with sheer exhaustion.
“It’s not really over yet,” he says of the road back to full recovery.
And the bills are piling up.
But a good friend, Damian Stones, has started a Givealittle page to help with costs.
“That part of it has kind of blown me away, I didn’t realise how many good people were in my life. When they pop out like this it’s like ‘wow’,” Grant says.
Preferring to be behind the camera rather than in front of it, Grant and Inge have found it hard accepting help from both friends and total strangers.
Riverside manager Dave McKenzie says they all feel proud of helping Grant.
“Their shoulders are back, they’re very proud, they know what they’ve done. David has family, I told him to let his boys know how much of a hero he is.”
He says the paramedic came back after Grant was settled in hospital to congratulate the staff.
“To have the reassurance they did everything right was great.”
Dave says the team undertake training every month at a minimum, more when Nayland Pool is open.
“We’re training all the time, and what they’re taught is it’s not so much the technique it’s how fast,” he says of utilising the defibrillator. “And they were so quick.
“I’m just so glad he was at the pool when it happened,” Dave says.
Grant says that two days before the incident, he’d done a 20km walk over Dun Mountain.
“That would’ve been complete curtains closed," he says.“That was the bit that kind of crushed me, putting my family through a s**t load of stress.”
Inge says she will be “eternally grateful” of the lifeguard's actions that day.
“I really wanted to let them [the lifeguards] know how much of heroes they are for what they’ve done. Everybody needs to know that. What they did was unbelievable. I never thought two strangers would save my husband’s life.”
Inge and Grant would like to see more defibrillators in the community and lifeguard Aaron says, “don’t be afraid to use them, they won’t shock people if they don’t need it”.
To help support Grant and his family through his rehabilitation, go here.
“Our gratitude is immense,” Inge says.
