World Heart Day: We Stopped for Coffee. Then Someone Collapsed.
My husband Brian and I, along with two dear friends, were travelling from Christchurch to Hokitika.
We stopped at our usual halfway point for a coffee and a break.
The café was busy. My friend Victoria joined the queue while I went to the bathroom. My husband was outside chatting.
Then suddenly, Victoria rushed into the bathroom.
“We need you. Someone has collapsed in the café.”
I quickly went into the café area. An elderly man was lying on the floor, with his wife beside him. I introduced myself to both of them. His wife responded, but he didn’t.
I immediately went into first-aid mode. I checked the scene and made sure it was safe to approach. I cleared some chairs away so I could get to him and checked for a response.
There was no response. I checked his breathing. There were no breaths.
His wife told me that he had a history of cardiac problems. I didn’t know exactly what those problems were, but at that point I didn’t need to know his complete medical history.
I had an unresponsive person who wasn’t breathing.
I suspected a cardiac arrest.
By then, Brian had come inside. I asked him to call 111 and explain that an elderly man had collapsed, was unresponsive and not breathing, and that we suspected a cardiac arrest.
Suddenly, there was a lot happening
A crowd started forming.
My husband, with the help of the café staff, asked people to move outside and give us some space. This was someone’s husband, father, grandfather. Someone’s loved one. This wasn’t a spectacle.
I started CPR and asked for an AED. The café had one. This was a busy but relatively isolated café, so having an AED available was fantastic. We attached the AED pads and followed its instructions. I continued chest compressions while my friend stayed close to the man’s wife, comforting her and supporting her through what must have been an incredibly frightening experience.
Then another person arrived. A local man who was part of the emergency response crew for the area came into the café. He had additional resuscitation equipment, including a bag-valve mask. There was a lot happening around us.
My husband was still on the phone with emergency services and helping keep people away from the scene, while café staff stayed nearby and were ready to help wherever they were needed. Then we were told that the Westpac Rescue Helicopter was required. Brian was asked to help clear an area for the helicopter to land. With the help of other people, they moved cars, tables, bikes and anything else that needed to be moved to create a suitable landing area. While that was happening outside, we continued working on our patient inside.
CPR and the AED
The AED pads were attached, and we waited for its instructions. We continued CPR, working in cycles of 30 compressions to two breaths. The AED advised a shock. We all stood clear.
The shock was delivered. Then we immediately continued with compressions.
The local emergency responder and I worked together. One person managed the bag-valve mask while the other continued compressions, and we rotated when needed so we could keep going. Everyone was working together. There was no panic. People knew what they needed to do. The AED advised another shock. Again, we stood clear, delivered the shock, and continued CPR.
Eventually, the helicopter arrived.
The paramedics came in and took over the advanced care. They set up their monitors, prepared medications and began working alongside us. We continued to assist wherever we could.
My friend remained with the man’s wife, providing comfort and support through what was an incredibly distressing situation.
It felt like hours.
It wasn’t.
It was around 45 minutes.
Forty-five minutes of CPR, AED shocks, breathing support, monitoring, teamwork and hope.
Sadly, despite everyone’s efforts, our patient did not survive. The paramedics called time of death.
When the CPR hurts
While I was doing CPR, I did crack some ribs. Yes, this was an elderly man. But when someone is in cardiac arrest, you have to push hard and deep enough to compress the chest and give the heart a chance to circulate blood. Sometimes ribs break during CPR.
It is not something you want to happen, but it can happen.
Ribs can heal. Sadly, a broken heart doesn’t.
After the paramedics called the time of death, we stayed with his wife. We made some phone calls for her and helped with whatever we could. We stayed with the café staff too.
They had just experienced an incredibly distressing event in their workplace. As had we.
It was a moment in time that I don’t think any of us will ever forget.
And although the outcome was heartbreaking, we all knew we had done our best.
The part that has stayed with me
There was another part of the experience that has stayed with me for a very different reason. People were taking photographs on their phones. I found that incredibly upsetting and disrespectful. This was someone’s husband. Someone’s father. Someone’s loved one.
He was a person who deserved dignity and privacy, even when he was lying on the floor of a busy café fighting for his life.
We need to ask ourselves:
Would you want someone taking a photograph of you, or your loved one, in that situation?
Would you want it shared? Would you want a photograph of your loved one circulating on social media at one of the most distressing moments of their life?
Probably not.
When someone is experiencing a medical emergency, put the phone away.
Give them space. Protect their dignity. Help if you can.
A reminder about bystanders
This experience reinforced something I have believed for a long time:
Bystanders matter.
When someone has a cardiac arrest, every minute matters. Starting CPR quickly and using an AED as soon as possible can significantly improve the chance of survival.
You don’t need to be a doctor or a paramedic. You don’t need to know exactly why someone’s heart has stopped.
You need to recognise that something is wrong and act. That is what happened in that café.
Someone recognised the emergency. Someone called 111. CPR was started. The AED was brought. A local emergency responder arrived with additional equipment. People helped clear an area for the rescue helicopter. A friend stayed with the man’s wife. The café staff helped.
The paramedics arrived and provided advanced care. Everyone played a part.
Sadly, our patient did not survive. But that does not make those actions meaningless. For around 45 minutes, a group of people did everything they could to give this man a chance.
The café had an AED
The café manager later told us that this was the second cardiac arrest they had experienced there in just three years. That really made me think.
Two cardiac arrests.
Two times when ordinary people suddenly found themselves in an extraordinary situation.
And on both occasions, having an AED available gave people an opportunity to act before professional help arrived. Having an AED is important. Knowing where it is is important.
Having people who are confident enough to get it is important. And knowing CPR is important.
If someone collapses and you suspect cardiac arrest
Keep it simple:
Check the scene. Make sure it is safe for you to approach.
Check for a response. Talk to the person and check whether they respond.
Check breathing. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, treat it as a cardiac arrest.
Call 111. Get emergency help immediately. Put your phone on speaker if you can.
Start CPR. Begin chest compressions and follow the instructions from the emergency operator.
Get an AED. Ask someone to find the nearest AED and bring it to you.
Turn on the AED and follow its instructions. Apply the pads as directed and listen carefully. Make sure everyone is clear when instructed.
Keep going. Continue CPR and follow the AED’s instructions until emergency medical help takes over or you are told to stop.
Looking back
Reflecting back on that day, I know that all of us did our best. We were trying to save someone’s life. We had no idea when we stopped for that coffee that we would find ourselves in the middle of a cardiac arrest, working alongside café staff, a local emergency responder, the rescue helicopter crew and paramedics.
Sadly, we couldn’t save him.
But we tried.
And I think that is what matters. First aid isn’t about guaranteeing an outcome. It is about giving someone the best chance you can. It is about having the knowledge to recognise what is happening, the confidence to act and the willingness to step forward.
We went into that café expecting a coffee. We left having experienced something none of us expected.
So learn CPR. Know where your nearest AED is. Call 111.
Step forward.
And if you ever find yourself standing in a crowd around someone who has collapsed, remember:
Put the phone away.
Give them space.
Protect their dignity.
Help if you can.
Because one day, that person could be you.
Ribs can heal. Sadly, a broken heart doesn’t.
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