York businessman Jorn Ib has attended the Newdegate Field Days more than 20 times in his lifetime. But he's unlikely to forget last year's event in September when he suffered a heart attack after setting up his site.
Jorn counts his lucky stars that a friend had noticed he had been looking unwell and was on hand to quickly alert an on-site paramedic to his distress. Given Jorn's condition and remote location, things had to move swiftly.
Loaded into an ambulance, Jorn had to make his way to Lake Grace Hospital, nearly 60kms from the Newdegate Field Days site.
In the ambulance, Jorn remembers being on skype with a doctor who advised an RFDS crew had been tasked to retrieve him to Perth, a 320km journey that would take 3hr30mins by road transport - time he says he didn't have.
"I knew I was in good hands all the way through from the paramedic to when the Flying Doctor received me and cared for me while on the way to Fiona Stanely Hospital. I had to get an operation to have a stent inserted.
"If the heart attack had happened when I was on my own or driving my truck on a back road or out in the bush, noone would've found me. I am very lucky somebody was looking out for me that day. After the incident, I was too scared to stay on my own but I'm fine now."
Besides making donations to support our Spring Campaign, Jorn has raised an additional $1800 by rattling the Flying Doctor's donation tins.
"I think I have now paid for my flight ticket to Perth," he joked.
"You just never know what is going to happen but this is my way of making sure other people can be as lucky as I was that day."
