Ian Aldenhoven was dead for 16 terrifying minutes – but a newly installed, lifesaving machine and quick thinking by good Samaritans brought him back to life.
The 60-year-old was waiting for his partner at Blakes Crossing Shopping Centre in Blakeview last week when he started to feel unwell.
He tried to stand up but collapsed in his car seat and went into cardiac arrest.
An off-duty trauma nurse from Lyell McEwin Hospital, who was driving past, stopped and started CPR.
As the drama unfolded, Woolworths assistant manager Annette Brook ran into the supermarket to grab a defibrillator, which had been installed just four months earlier.
“They put the pads on me and they shocked me twice,” said Mr Aldenhoven, of Andrews Farm. “It brought me back to life. I was dead for 16 minutes.”
SA Ambulance Services intensive care paramedic Aaron Turner said the defibrillator was vital in resuscitating Mr Aldenhoven and keeping him alive.
He was then rushed by ambulance to the Lyell McEwin Hospital, where he underwent surgery. “The actions of Nicole (the off-duty nurse), emergency services and Annette from Woolies saved my life,” said Mr Aldenhoven, who told his story as part of Wednesday’s Restart a Heart Day.