My work mates saved my life

By Stuart Lockhart

It was a hot Queensland day. The temperature had already reached 35 degrees and it was only 10.15am. I’m a landscaper and I’d been working hard all morning laying concrete. It was time to take a short break I so headed to the air conditioned comfort of my car to escape the heat for a moment.

That is where my symptoms started. 

After a long gulp of drink I opened my eyes and everything was blurry. At first, I thought it was my body’s reaction to the shock of the cold liquid. I shut my eyes for a few minutes, assuming the sensation would go away, but it didn’t. 

I felt odd and tried to call a work mate, but my tongue was tingly. By this point I had to concentrate really hard to get words out and began to realise I was in trouble. My colleague thought I was experiencing heatstroke.  

Another work mate came over as he could see something was wrong. He knew my father had passed away from stroke and called an ambulance. He gave me a drink and monitored me until the ambulance arrived 40 minutes later.  

When I reached hospital I was given a brain scan which revealed a large blood clot was stopping blood flow to my brain.  I was treated with clot dissolving medication and transferred to a major hospital in Brisbane where I had clot retrieval surgery.

When I came to after the surgery I felt very nauseous and fatigued, but so thankful to be alive. I kept drifting in and out of consciousness. My vision had returned to normal, but the experience would take a while to sink in. I couldn’t wait to see my wife and sons who had been in Tasmania at the time. They flew back as soon as they could. It was such a relief to see them. 

I was closely monitored by the hospital staff over the next few days and the care I received was fantastic. I saw specialists after specialist and had to pass numerous tests before they were satisfied I was ready to be discharged. They provided me with a lot of information and contacts to call if I had any problems.

This all happened in January 2019. My recovery has been progressing steadily, I’m doing well so far and have returned to work part-time. 

I can’t thank my work mates enough for their quick actions. I am also grateful to my doctors and the hospital staff for their excellent treatment and care. I am an example of the system working well to deliver time-critical treatment. I have been given a second chance at life.