My Story

Never in a million years did I think I would suffer a Sudden Cardiac Arrest. I was in my mid 40's, a Qualified Personal Trainer, trained 5-6 days a week, conscious of what I put in and on my body and an active volunteer in the community. I was a bill of health, or so I thought.

I'm Justine, but everyone calls me Jus, Juz or Juzzy. A single mother to two beautiful children who live on the Mornington Peninsula, Melbourne, Australia.

2020 was already a year to remember with the COVID-19 pandemic which involved lengthy lockdowns, particularly here in Victoria. For many, jobs were put on hold or made redundant, kids were home schooling at which meant parents became instant teachers and family and friends were isolated from one another. It was a tough time for everyone around the world and within Australia, particularly residents of Victoria.

Wednesday July 22nd was another day in lockdown and my son's 16th birthday. Throughout lockdown I was working out and walking every day, sometimes twice a day. Moving my body was my way of coping with lockdown madness. 

The following is a recount of events that took place on July 22nd from family, friends and medical professionals due to memory loss I have sustained from my Cardiac Arrest.

Around 11.20am I went into my bedroom to do a workout. I had rearranged my bedroom so I had a space to go to workout where I wouldn't be an interruption to the kids while they were home schooling. My daughter was deciding what to cook her brother for lunch, she wanted to make him something special for his birthday. While contemplating what to cook, she had a feeling that she needed to run it past me. Walking into my room she found me on the floor and unresponsive. My son was in the shower, she quickly got his attention and they called 000. It had been concluded that I had suffered a Sudden Cardiac Arrest and CPR needed to commence immediately. With the guidance of the 000 dispatcher my son began CPR while my daughter waited for the Ambulance to arrive.

Paramedics and Firefighters arrived at the scene 7-8 minutes after the call was made to find me cyanotic* with agaonal breathing*. Immediately the first defibrillation was administered and continual CPR given. I was given a further 4 defibrillations before the MICA* unit arrived and another 3 after their arrival. A total of 8 defibrillations within 25mins. 

After further treatment I began to take 4-6 spontaneous breathes per minute however, I remained pulseless once compressions ceased. I was intubated and the mechanical CPR device was applied. After a further 3 cycles of compressions I now maintained spontaneous breathes at a rate of 12-14 per minute however I still wasn't maintaining a pulse on cessation of compressions.

I had been in Cardiac Arrest for 35 minutes with 25 minutes of Advanced Lifesaving Care and Intensive Care Treatment but with no return of spontaneous circulation*. At that point discussions between the Paramedics were had regarding my ongoing management. Despite being outside the normal criteria for time post collapse and distance to hospital the team decided that due to my age, history and response to treatment, they'd give me every chance and the decision was made to transport me to hospital with the mechanical CPR device insitu. 

My condition remained unchanged on arrival to Frankston Hospital. However, during the transfer from ambulance trolley to hospital bed my observation spontaneously changed, I had a rhythm and a strong brachial pulse. I was now maintaining a return of spontaneous circulation. Within minutes I was biting on the intubation tube and had to be sedated. I was taken to the Cathlab for tests with the results showing my left ventricle was enlarged and consistent with Takosubo Cardiomyopathy. I was put into an induced coma and moved to ICU for 4 days. I spent a further 5 days on the Cardiology Ward at Frankston before being transferred to the Alfred Hospital where I had surgery to have an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) installed. The ICD is a combined pacemaker and defibrillator. I was in hospital for a total of 2 weeks.

What is Takosubo Cardiomyopathy? Takosubo Cardiomyopathy also known as 'Broken Heart Syndrome', is a sudden and acute form or Heart failure. The heart muscle becomes suddenly weakened or stunned and the main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, enlarges and changes shape. This effects the hearts ability to pump blood effectively. Takosubo is bought on by physical and/or emotional stress. 

Fact: Takosubo originates from the name for a Japanese Octopus Trap, as the left ventricle changes into a similar shape.

If my Cardiac Arrest was from physical stress, I can see how all the extra training I was doing at the time would have contributed. However, after multiple discussions with Doctors and Specialists, it was likely caused by emotional stress. Upon reflection, I can see how burying all my grief from the loss of 5 close family members who passed within 5 years contributed to my cardiac arrest. Instead of dealing with the grief after each loss I heavily threw myself into work, volunteering at my children's sporting clubs and anything else that kept me busy so I didn't have to feel the pain. Throw a marriage breakdown and the stress that came with Covid in the mix too. Something was bound to give sooner or later.

The following details are from my discharge form from the Alfred Hospital:

Downtime Summary

Total from call to formal Return of Spontaneous Circulation - 93mins

Bystander CPR - 7mins

Ambulance Victoria arrival to Pulseless Electrical Activity* - 20mins

Pulseless Electrical Activity to Return of Spontaneous Circulation - 66mins

What does all that mean? For 93 minutes I had continual CPR, I was clinically dead*.

I've spoken to many doctors and nurses and they state very clearly that I'm a miracle, that a) I survived the event and b) I have no other serious issues such as brain damage due to the time I was down (clinically dead). What I do have though is tiredness and memory loss. I get tired and fatigued easy so managing my days are of high importance otherwise I suffer heavily. In regards to the memory loss, I have lost 3 and half weeks of memory around the cardiac arrest event, 10 days prior to the SCA and my time in hospital. Days and/or events from weeks, months, years prior to the event I have either lost all or can only recall partial details. It's interesting. 

After being discharged from hospital I spent the following 6 weeks in country Victoria with family. I had excruciating pain whenever I moved or coughed due to the prolonged CPR, I was constantly fatigued and found basic tasks to be challenging. It took quite some time to comprehend what had actually happened long with the seriousness and severity of what had happened and to come to terms with my new way of living. 

Reflecting on the 12 months after the cardiac arrest, one of the toughest things to witness and it still is to date is seeing how this has affected my children. They too have suffered a massive trauma. As a parent, you want to protect your children and arm them with skills to navigate their way through life. My Sudden Cardiac Arrest highlighted the lack of education on life saving skills such as CPR. I want all our children to be equipped with the knowledge of what to do in an emergency and how to perform CPR so if needed, they too can save the life of a parent, family member, friend, colleague, acquaintance or stranger. I NEVER want a child to be unprepared for such a traumatic experience. If we can prepare them we may, just a little, ease the trauma they will go through. For this reason in February 2021, I registered my business 'Heart Matters Australia'. 

In 2022, I took myself back to school where I studied the Training and Assessment course and got my certification. This has allowed my to align myself with a Registered Training Organisation and deliver the Nationally Recognised First Aid (HLTAID011) and CPR (HLTAID009) courses. I aim to reach and teach as many Victorian residents as I possibly can.

My aim with Heart Matters Australia is to increase the survival rate of Sudden Cardiac Arrest which currently sits at an extremely low 10% with 79% of cases happening within the home. 

How will I do this? By sharing my story to bring awareness to Sudden Cardiac Arrest, educating on the importance of why everyone should know how to perform CPR, why we need more AED's that are accessible to the public 24/7 out in communities and highlighting the effects stress can have on the body.  

Together we can make a difference but first we must bring awareness and educate, this is key!

I would like to share an affirmation that I had in one of my sessions with my Kinesiologist that has had a massive impact on me, my journey to date, my journey moving forward my soul purpose.

'I help others by taking one small step everyday'.

Definitions

CPR - Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation

Cyanotic - bluish colour of the skin or mucous membrane

Agaonal Breathing - gasping for air

MICA - Mobile Intensive Care Ambulance

Return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) - resumption of a sustained heart rhythm

Cathlab - is a speciality area that undertakes a range of interventional and diagnostic cardiac procedures

AED - Automated External Defibrillator

Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA) - unresponsive and lack of a palpable pulse in the presence of cardio electrical activity

Clinically dead - cessation of blood circulation and breathing.