Heart-attack doctor died for 85 minutes
Doctor Sean George was declared clinically brain dead after a heart attack in a small rural town in outback Australia – but his wife Sherry had faith for a miracle.
On 24 October 2008, Dr George had worrying chest pain while driving home across the remote regions of Western Australia. He had been visiting a small mining town 400 km from Kalgoorlie, where he worked as a consulting physician and as the head of general medicine.
His discomfort continued to the point where he decided to pull over and call his wife, Sherry, also a doctor, to let her know what was happening. Though she suggested he made the short remaining distance to Kalgoorlie Hospital, Dr George felt a strong impression to pull into the nearby town of Kambalda to seek immediate help.
He’d made a wise choice, as a short time later he was handed his own ECG results to interpret, given that the local doctor was on a lunch break. Dr George self-diagnosed a heart attack.
“Just eleven minutes after the ECG, with the pain in my chest becoming unbearable… my heart completely stopped.”
Desperately working to save his life over the next 70 minutes, a team of paramedics gave over 4,000 chest compressions and administered 13 electrical shocks. With no response, Dr George was declared clinically dead.
“They all agreed to stop CPR and all life-support measures except oxygen to my lungs.”
… story continues
