PLB Rescue in Victoria’s High Country Brings Urgent Cardiac Care

What happened?

On Friday, March 20, I headed into Victoria’s High Country for a long weekend with friends. Our group included me, newly retired after 32 years as a paramedic, a retired ambulance mechanic, and two current paramedics. We met at Mitchells Flat campground at about 7 p.m. Two members had already set up camp and lit the fire.

After the usual arrival routine, I started setting up my stretcher tent beneath my 4×4 awning. Near the end of the job, I felt what I can only describe as a horse kicking me in the chest. My implanted defibrillator had fired.

I then found myself lying on my back in the grass, looking up at the stars. The seriousness of the situation quickly became clear. We were deep in Victoria’s High Country with no phone signal. I needed assessment at a major hospital in Melbourne.

Only one week earlier, I had purchased and registered my Ocean Signal rescueME PLB1. I bought it for travel, hoping I would never need to use it. That night, I was very glad I had it with me.

I told one of my friends where to find the personal locator beacon. They activated it according to the instructions. While we waited, the group packed my equipment and prepared a 4×4 vehicle. We could use it if we needed to meet the rescuers away from camp.

The remote campground only allowed 4×4 access. That made the location more difficult for emergency crews to reach. Before long, we heard helicopter rotors in the distance. The aircraft circled the area while its crew searched for a safe place to land.

We drove about 100 meters to the landing site. We arrived before the helicopter crew had completed its shutdown procedure.

PolAir, Victoria Police Air Wing, arrived first. The crew told us that HEMS was close behind. However, fog filled the surrounding valleys. The conditions could have prevented the HEMS helicopter from taking off again after landing.

PolAir flew me to Mansfield Airport to meet HEMS. From there, HEMS transported me to Melbourne for hospital care. I spent three nights in hospital while doctors ran tests and checked my defibrillator. They also made the necessary adjustments before I returned home.

This PLB rescue showed why added protection matters in remote Australia. Mobile coverage can disappear quickly, even with the best providers. I am grateful to my friends, the rescue crews, Ocean Signal, and All Sat Communications for their support.

Words of wisdom

Life is precious. Proper planning prevents poor outcomes.

 

Thank you note to the Ocean Signal team

Thanks go out to the product, Ocean Signal’s PLB1, that certainly made my rescue possible as no phone reception was available. We have previously borrowed a PLB from my son in law on our travels but my new unit was only 2 weeks old.