Nole's flight to live

Nole was enjoying a day out on the water, fishing off his jet ski. He certainly wasn’t looking for trouble (he was fit and felt good for his age). Trouble unfortunately found him!  Nole, out of the blue, experienced severe back pain. He didn’t know it at the time, but he was having a heart attack.

Just north of Tairua, some 3km off shore, Nole’s immediate thoughts were to make it back to dry land and to Judy, his wife of 40 years. When Nole walked through the door of their holiday home, Judy put in an urgent 111 call – a call that would save his life. Emergency partner St John rushed Nole to Thames Hospital where he was stabilised.

While the Auckland & Coromandel Westpac Rescue Helicopter was very busy that day, Nole was relieved to hear he could be emergency transfered to Auckland Hospital’s Cardiology Unit.

“Their arrival was so welcome,” he says, “I knew I was in the hands of professionals who knew exactly what they were doing.”

The couple recognised some of the crews’ faces from the Code:1 TV show. Not wanting to take away from their professionalism, Nole credits their good humour as being a big help during his ordeal and in helping Judy cope with the shock as well.

Nole would like to encourage you to give generously to the Annual Appeal. “I hope I never have need of the service again, so that my donation will help the next person,” Nole tells us, “I will continue giving to the service and I hope you will too.”