Part 1.

Angie, our 3 kids, and myself arrived in Mackay on 3rd Sept 2006. After spending two weeks in a cramped caravan and struggling for accommodation we decided to leave for and try somewhere else. Whilst buying a car big enough for our suitcases, the girl in the showroom told us about a house for rent. It wasn't ideal but it meant we could stay here. We paid 6 months upfront but from day one, hated it. I don’t think it fitted in with our vision of how it was going to all pan out.

Anyway, I secured work without any problems but Angie was struggling with the whole situation. The main reason being that she didn’t drive and the public transport system in Mackay leaves a lot to be desired. I was working 12 hour shifts and she was stuck at home. After taking the kids to school, she had too much time to think about home.

After 4 months, we decided to buy a home and found a lovely brick house in the district we were living, which was handy for the kid’s school. We moved in at the end of January 07 and Angie started to make the place feel like home.

While settling into our new home, Angie started driving lessons and was doing great, when disaster struck at the beginning of March. After complaining of a sore throat for about a week, I went to the doc who arranged an appointment at the throat clinic. However I never made it as later that night, I suffered a massive heart attack and collapsed in a heap on the floor. Angie panicked and ran next door to fetch a neighbour who came in and gave me CPR. I had no pulse and according to Angie, was black in colour from the neck up. Karen, (my neighbour), kept up the CPR while her brother spoke to emergency services who relayed information until the ambulance arrived about 10-15 minutes later. They kick started my heart after 8 attempts and took me to Mackay base hospital where I was put in a helicopter and taken to Townsville hospital because the cardiac unit in Mackay is not equipped to deal with patients with severe heart. Anyway, they froze me to stabilize my organs, (I think) and put me in a coma, which I stayed in for 21 days, they gave me around a 3% chance of survival.

After stabilizing me, they told Angie to inform my family in Scotland and to tell them to get themselves out here as quickly as they could. Being catholic, a local priest came in and gave me the last rights because in their opinion, I had no chance. They worked on me and operated on my heart but it was machines that were keeping me alive. My brother and sisters arrived and stayed for two weeks while I lay there not knowing whether it was New Year or New York. After one operation, the staff started removing the wires to see if I could stay alive unaided. I survived for about 4 hours then crashed. I think the term is flat lined, when the machine just gives off a constant drone. They operated, calling it a 5 times by-pass, which basically meant that all my arteries had blocked and they had to take veins from my legs and put them in my heart. Now because I was in Townsville, which is about 5 hours drive from Mackay, Angie and the kids moved there as well and lived in holiday chalets. With my brothers and sisters over from Scotland, at least there was someone to drive and not rely on taxis.