Life-savers

By Bridget Brady
BOB Piggott says he owes his life to capable and enthusiastic staff at Casey RACE, who brought him back to life.
He can’t remember a thing about it, but the 67-year-old is fully aware of how lucky he is and the enormity of what happened to him at the Cranbourne aquatic and leisure centre on 7 April.
“I’m extremely blessed. The good Lord must have been watching down on me.”
Mr Piggott’s heart stopped while he was in the change rooms at Casey RACE. There were no signs of life when lifeguards performed CPR, so a defibrillator was used to re- start his heart.“I just saw a guy running out of the change rooms saying you need to get here now. We knew straight away that he wasn’t breathing,” lifeguard Jess Hardy said.
On his first day as duty manager, Benjamin Nicholson said autopilot kicked as he and Jes put their training into practice.
“We had the adrenaline running through us for a few days,” Benjamin said.
Mr Piggott, a Patterson Lakes resident who swims every second day at Casey RACE, was reunited with his two “life-savers” last week, and thanked them profusely for their quick reaction and use of the defibrillator machine that saved his life.“The outcome could have been frightening. I can’t get my head around it.”
Benjamin said the defibrillator was used within three minutes of when they discovered Mr Piggott, saving him from potential brain damage.
Paramedics placed Mr Piggott in an induced coma and he spent three days at Frankston ICU and almost two weeks in hospital all up. In what was the first major emergency since the facility opened in June last year, Casey RACE manager Mark Arneil said he was very pleased with the way his staff handled the situation.
“I’m proud of the job that the team did. I think it’s a testament to them as people and the training that they’ve received,” Mr Arneil said.
He said it was a decision of YMCA and Casey Council to keep a defibrillator at the facility.Mr Piggott said he felt “very lucky that we live in the times that we live in”.
“You can have all the wonderful facilities but it doesn’t amount to much if you don’t have those great people.”
He and his wife, Margaret, are both trained in first aid and said it was important training to have. The doctor has ordered Mr Piggott to take about three months off to rest, and the keen swimmer said he planned to make a splash again.
But for now, he could enjoy a bit of TV time. “If they had something decent on,” he said.
YMCA in Pakenham also had an ordeal recently, when a basketballer suffered what was believed to be a coronary seizure during a game at Cardinia LiFE on 22 April. Unfortunately the man in his 30s died.