Wayne

Angina

Cardiac arrest

From angina diagnosis to a new lease on life

Nearing retirement after close to 43 years working at the Whakatāne pulp and paper mill, Wayne’s first encounter with a heart condition came as a total surprise.

During a trip with his local RSA to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of mainland New Zealand, Wayne noticed something wasn’t quite right.

From the carpark down to the lighthouse, Wayne enjoyed the leisurely twenty-odd minute stroll, taking in the wonderful view of both the Pacific Ocean and Tasman Sea.

After about an hour or so with numerous photographs taken, it was time to head back to the bus. But as he made his way up the winding path accompanied by his friend Gordon, a very fit and active eighty-year-old, Wayne found himself struggling to breathe properly.

“I said to Gordon, look I’m going to have to stop because I’m running out of puff. I think I had to stop and sit down three, maybe four times so I could get my breath back.”

Obviously concerned about what had happened, Wayne visited his doctor the following week.

“We arrived back in Whakatāne on the Monday, and I went straight to my doctor on the Tuesday morning,” he recalls.

He was diagnosed with angina and was given a GTN spray to help manage the symptoms. The spray worked well initially but Wayne found himself using it more and more regularly, to the extent where walking 100 yards without a stop became near impossible.

“It was just happening too frequently. The physical amount of effort involved was becoming less and less and I was relying on the medication more and more.”

Revisit to doctor and hospital stay 

Realising things were far from ideal, Wayne returned to his doctor who requested an urgent consultation with Docter Stuart Tie, a Tauranga based cardiologist. He was given an ECG (Electrocardiogram) test. The preliminary findings were enough for Docter Tie to arrange for Wayne to attend Braemar Hospital in Hamilton a few days later to have an angiogram as well as a probable stent.

“The results were horrendous, to say the least, a time bomb waiting to happen.” 

Wayne’s coronary arteries were 90-95% blocked.

“The wife and I thought it was just going to be a bit of stent work and then in the car and home again that afternoon, but they said, look, you’re not going anywhere. And with that they put me in the ambulance and transported me directly across the road to Waikato hospital.”

After an anxious three-day wait, Wayne underwent lifesaving quintuple Bypass surgery (CABG)x5.

“They just did tests and that sort of thing during the weekend, keeping an eye on me. But there was a lot of uncertainty going on, especially for my family,” he says.

Once he finally went into theatre, things took a turn for the worse right from the outset. During the procedure, Wayne suffered two cardiac arrests, the first just minutes after the start of surgery. Because of the significant and complex issues involved, Wayne spent over twelve hours in theatre. 
“Apparently, I died twice, and thanks to the brilliant skills of the surgical team, they managed to bring me back on track again. I remember waking up, and they had put me in the ‘high dependency’ unit. A clock on the wall showed what I thought was midday, and because I was feeling well rested and also rather hungry, I reckoned with it being lunchtime food wasn’t too far off. Realising I was awake, the staff came in and assured me I had got it wrong. It was actually midnight, and I had just come out of an induced coma........after five and a half days.”

Possible causes and lifestyle changes

Reflecting on his past, Wayne attributes his heart condition to a number of reasons that could have played a part in some way or another.

“I suppose you could say being a shift worker for all that time didn’t help. I did close to fifty years all up. When I left school, I went to work at the local bakery. The hours were pretty rugged, and I left after five years to join what was back then NZ Forest Products. In all those years I never really got anywhere near the amount of sleep I should have; three to four hours was common.”

Although there was no significant family history of heart disease, Wayne’s diet and eating habits weren’t the healthiest.

He also says years of smoking (he gave up in 2010) didn’t do him any favours and most probably contributed to him requiring lifesaving emergency surgery.

“That was the psyche back then, you know. A lot of us mill workers during the seventies and eighties, all on huge wages for those times, we would spend most of our days off in the pub.”

Today, obviously, after what he has been through in recent years, Wayne lives with a renewed appreciation for life.

“When I wake in the morning, I like to think every day is a good day, another day in paradise. As far as my eating habits are concerned, that’s all changed now. Foods that I disliked immensely not too long ago, like avocados and pasta have now become a regular feature of my diet.”

Wayne still likes to pop down to his local RSA most Fridays and enjoys a few beers and a catch-up with his mates.

“I’m a very sociable person, always have been,” he says.

His daily routine has changed very little, but one thing he is adamant about is the importance of taking his twice-daily medication.

When Wayne was finally discharged from Waikato Hospital after eighteen days, and on the strong advice of his cardio-thoracic surgeon, Wayne joined a cardiac rehab group. These sessions provided a sense of community and support with familiar faces amongst the other participants. 

“I went along, and there were local people I knew,” he says. 

“It made me feel like it wasn’t just me after all. At any one time, there’d be maybe a dozen of us there, that sort of thing. And we all had something in common. It was well worth it, and I am very pleased to have been part of the course.”

Advice for others and future outlook

It’s been over five years since Wayne had his quintuple bypass surgery. He continues to enjoy life and is convinced his adventurous spirit still remains intact.

“My wife Rhoma has been my pillar of strength and backbone throughout my ordeal, especially during the perilous and uncertain period while I was in hospital. The months spent recuperating at home post-op went relatively smoothly, and with Rhoma being a district health nurse, I was very fortunate and very appreciative of what she did for me.”

Avid travellers for the last forty-odd years, Wayne and Rhoma are keen to head off overseas once again. A few days in Vanuatu about twelve months ago is their only venture outside New Zealand since their last major holiday to Greece and Israel in November 2018. 

“I remember it vividly,” Wayne recalls. “I spent my 64th birthday in Bethlehem.” Having visited over seventy countries, South America – the only continent they haven’t explored yet – is high on the list.
Wayne’s advice to others is straightforward and profound.

“Always listen to your body and make sure to regularly take your medication. You don’t have to live your life like a saint, everything in moderation.”