When the Havelock North Bowling Club held its annual Men’s Classic recently, it was interrupted by an event which we all hope never happens on our own green : one of the players suffered a major cardiac arrest.

“It’s something we’re all aware could happen,” says President Mike Eagle. “And as bowling clubs we all put in place appropriate procedures and equipment should it ever happen.  But if it ever comes to the crunch, most of us are probably unfamiliar with dealing with the enormity of a life or death situation.”

“In our case, we were fortunate to have people on hand , through their efforts and with the help of the club’s defibrillator, saved a fellow bowlers life,”

“It was a very warm afternoon” recalls Mike.  “And the bloke, a visiting bowler, started feeling dizzy … slumping to his knees on the rink.  It was first thought he may have been suffering from heat stroke.  But he deteriorated so quickly that we all realised he was in real trouble”.

“Looking back, that small team that worked on him for the 15 minutes or so until the emergency response team arrived, were heroic.”

“Fortune was on ours and his side.  We simply couldn’t have planned to have a better group of people  working so well together to keep him alive.  Two were his teammates and both were adept at CPR … two were spectators, one of whom was a retired nurse who took control of the situation … and two were playing on adjacent rinks … including one who had used a defibrillator before in a similar situation.”

“Later when we were in the clubrooms having called the event off, we heard from the hospital that while he was still fighting hard, there was no doubt that our team that worked on him on the green had saved his life.”

“I have had two or three messages from him since that weekend, and he is going well.  Although he has a lengthy rehab ahead of him, he says he is looking forward to being back for next year’s Men’s Classic,  We’re  looking forward to that reunion too!”

The event brought the reality of the situation home to club members, and they carried out a full debrief the following week.

“We learnt some valuable lessons,” says Mike. “Cellphones around the green are generally discouraged. However having one on hand is vital … not just to ring 111, but also to keep the two-way communication going between our team and the emergency control room.”

“In future, the Match Convenor will carry a cellphone.”

‘Secondly, we have made the defibrillator more accessible.  We are so thankful we had one.  But in the heat of the moment, it wasn’t as accessible as it could’ve been.  It was placed too high on the clubroom wall, the combination lock was a little difficult to undo, and the code numbers had to line-up perfectly to unlock.”

“When the situation is desperate, things need to be more straightforward.”

“And lastly, while we had the ‘ideal’ team working on him, we simply can’t just hope for that.

“So we’re going to organise more regular training in both CPR and the use of the defibrillator. We feel that eliminating or reducing the level of nervousness or uncertainty over how the defibrillator works will prepare us better.”

“It was a harrowing experience” sums up Mike.  “And we’re immensely proud of the team that worked on him … it was a wonderful outcome.  We know we have improvements to put in place, but we’re all very motivated to do so.”

“As well as looking forward to seeing our ‘patient’ at next year’s Classic”.