The following is a factual report on what happened to Dave Baird on Sunday afternoon at Buddina beach.
Firstly thanks to Laurie and the moderators who respected our request not to publicise this incident till we knew the outcome and the fact that Daves family was out of contact range.
I have asked Dave and he is happy for me to report on the event in the hope that we can all learn something from his event.
On Sunday our usual crew of about 8 did a downwinder on the Kawana section of the Sunny Coast.
The run was pretty standard and the conditions ideal.
Start of Incident - o mins
I had finished first and was wrapping my lines when I looked down the beach 300m south of sbends and noticed Daves kite resting on the beach and Dave was on the waters edge on his hands and knees with his face down on the sand. I noticed he wasnt moving so I ran the 300 m towards him noting that as I got closer he wasnt moving and now his head and shoulders were being covered by water.
He was still attached to his kite which was in a stable and unpowered state.
1 mins in
I grabbed his head out of the water his mouth was full of sand, his eyes were open and rolled back and he was unresponsive.
About 15 secs after I got to him I was joined by Pete - he was too heavy for us to move him and then we were joined by(EZZY)AYRES and after we established he was not responding to us and was not breathing and had no pulse we managed to lift him 15 meters up to dry sand so we could work on him.
2 mins in
We immediately went into full CPR - at the same time Phil ran up to get a call to 000.
Ezzy and Al AND PETE took turns on chest compressions while I managed his head and airway.
We continued for what seemed forever till we heard the ambulance coming - constantly checking his airway/ breathing and pulse
Each check was negative - no pulse - no breathing - airway very messy and full of sand
We estimate we worked on him for 12-15mins approx although it felt like longer
17mins -
4 paramedic arrive and instruct us to keep going while they set up their gear
wetsuit cut off chest and defib pads put on chest
no pulse but the heart was in defibrillation mode -
(Not clear on exact order on the following)
Did some suction on airway
Put an airway tube in and put a pump bag on to breath into him
They shocked him
put an iv line in arm and gave him adrenalin
the paramedics worked for about 20mins
when they got a weak pulse the prepared him for the stretcher carry to the ambulance - about 80 meters up on the road
all our crew carried dave and the equipment to the ambulance
37 mins in Dave was taken away to Nambour hospital - he was still unconscious
At the hospital we had reports that they suspected and a heart attack and the tests began- he was kept in an induced coma over night
MONDAY
Dave regained consciousness slowly -
NO damage was detected to his heart arteries or vessels
By Monday avo Dave was talking but very confused still. NO short term memory.
Tuesday - Still undergoing monitoring they suspected a fault with the electrical element that tells your heart muscle to work ( A rough laymans interpretation)
This is still a concern and at the time of writing this is an unresolved issue for him
I saw him Tuesday avo and was in good spirits and wanting to get out of hospital -
Reports from today - he is getting brighter and memory is improving
Doctors are very pleased with his state and are stating that he is extremely lucky to be with us.
We are all indeed pleased and thankful for such an amazing outcome considering most people don't survive this.
LETS BE VERY CLEAR _ THIS IS NOT A KITESURFING ACCIDENT
It was a heart attack incident that happened while he was kiting -
On working out what had happened -
Dave had come into the beach probably feeling unwell
Put his kite down and collapsed into the PRAY TO MECCA position - then went unconscious when his heart stopped
His kite was dry and the position he was in means that he was not in the water when it happened.
What have we learned from this so far -
1. A 95kg dead weight is really hard to move- thankfully we had plenty of guys close by
2. Our group was fairly close together which enabled plenty of help quickly - A good reason why to keep close together when doing downwinders - plus we had a good size team to enable lots of help when we needed it
I think it would be a very different outcome if there was just 1 or 2 of us.
3 We were lucky the incident happened just 80 meters from a road and 20 meters from a beach access - THis made it easy and fast to get help and get him off the beach
4 We had all been trained in cpr - and (EZZY)AYRES and AL had experience having worked on other real incidents - they were confident and did and great job even though they cracked his sternum.
5 Acting fast - Doctors have told us that there is a very short window 2-3 mins to begin before damage happens to heart muscle and brain.
A massive rap for the paramedics that were so calm and so effective in bringing him back - we are so lucky to have a great service in this country. Plus the great treatment at the Nambour hospital is to be commended.
A big rap for our mates who were there to help
We are now planning a welcome back home party for Dave.
PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU VISIT YOUR CPR SKILLS - IT COULD HELP SAVE A MATE
Bruce Exton
The above info is provided for this forum only and is not to be used by any other media without consent.
Thanks for the info Bruce. We visited Dave tonight and he is improving every day. Thanks Guys for keeping our Mate alive!
Wow, good work Bruce and other guys! He is certainly lucky to be alive, I'm very surprised he made it reading through the account. Scary stuff.
Bruce is right, learn CPR and be there for your mates! You're the only chance they've got in a situation like this.
I'm really glad it all turned out ok in this situation, but it's a heavy reminder for all of us that no one is here forever... make the most of it.
Wow, i have done my first aid course at least 10 times in my life and never had to do cpr in a real life situations . You guys clearly saved his life and used your learnt skills well. Total hats off to you !
You guys are bloody legends!!!!
If you're ever down in Vic hit me up, would love to buy you all some drinks!
Hope your mate makes a speedy recovery.
Sam.
Well done guys. Definite legend points earned there. He's a lucky guy to have mates like you lot.
Sure we would all look after another kiter in trouble, but you guys sound like you really had your **** together.
Hope he makes a full recovery and gets back out there soon!
We all need mates, I hope I never need them that much. Best wishes all round, sounds like you all went through a lot and that can take some adjusting to. Heres to a smooth recovery.
Such an awesome story. Chair I am sitting in has gouge marks from reading this. sitting here now I have goose bumps.
Such an awesome effort guys
Awesome job! He is very lucky to have you as mates, and people who don't panic and can act immediately. Having had to do CPR on a guy who got into trouble on a big day at Cloudbreak I can say first hand how scary seeing someone in that condition is. Help seems to take an eternity to get help. Even when they regain consciousness many people die from secondary drowning due to insufficient oxygen in the lungs.
This is another call to all those who have not taken or not recently taken an advanced first aid course. It could be your buddy next time and YOU could make the difference if he or she lives or not. As water sports people we run a greater risk than other sports and sometimes things do happen.
Great outcome and hope Dave makes a complete and full recovery. Beers on us if you ever hit up South Coast NSW!
Of behalf of the boys who helped Dave - thanks to all the above positive comments.
I think the info I found WHAT ARE THE SIGNS- WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU ARE HAVING A HEART ATTACK - is very valuable - share this with your mates and family
Here is the down load link - www.heartattackfacts.org.au
source from Heart foundation website
Did you know a heart attack occurs every 10 minutes in Australia?
More than 55,000 Australians had a heart attack last year – tragically almost 10,000 also died. Over 50% of heart attack deaths occur before the person reaches hospital and almost 25% of people who die from a heart attack die within one hour of their first warning sign.
Make sure you recognise the warning signs of a heart attack and download your FREE action plan (available in ten languages) at www.heartattackfacts.org.au
Heart attacks are more common than you realise – we want every Australian to learn the warning signs of heart attack and call Triple Zero (000) if they or someone else is experiencing any symptoms.
Warning signs vary from person to person and they may not always be sudden or severe. Although chest pain or discomfort is the most common symptom, some people will not experience chest pain at all. Symptoms may include pain, pressure, heaviness or tightness in one or more parts of the upper body including chest, neck, jaw, arm(s), shoulder(s) or back in combination with other symptoms such as nausea, shortness of breath, dizziness or a cold sweat.
Health professionals, community leaders, sporting groups and individuals can all make a difference by learning the warning signs of heart attack and sharing this lifesaving information with patients, colleagues, family members and friends.
Knowing the warning signs of heart attack and acting quickly by calling Triple Zero (000) can reduce damage to your heart and increase your chance of survival.
It could save your life, or the life of someone you love.
If you experience the warning signs of heart attack for 10 minutes, or if they are severe or get progressively worse, call Triple Zero (000) immediately and ask for an ambulance.
cheers
BRUCE
... wow man, I got goose pimples from your report,,, epic job by all and epic job for Dave to hang in there!
Robbie 
What an excellent result, I bet your next downwinder with Dave will be special.
Thought I'd throw this CPR chart up to help refresh our minds.
thanks Topple - good to put that here
with the changes to the protocol now being 2/30 instead of 2/15 there is a good chance people get confused hence why we all need retraining regularly.
WHen you have different people at the scene with different training it does create some issues / and unnecessary debate.
We were fortunate that 2 of our guys had recent training and REAL LIFE experience which enable them to be confident in what we were doing.
Good job to all the Kawana Crew....
Bruce, I know your actions of 'knowing' something just wasn't right, when you saw him at the waters edge, no doubt saved Dave from sustaining possible life altering injuries.
The thing to remember here is.... Always look out for your mates and remain calm when performing any kind of rescue, this sport is one that requires people to have at least a basic understanding of CPR & FIRST AID..
Get well soon Dave..
Thanks for the write up Bruce.
It not only helps clear up what happened but also provide a great example of how knowing what to do can change the outcome of what otherwise would have been a tragic event.
If / when I am up your way I will buy you all beer, but in the meanwhile a virtual one will have to do (sorry!)
Regarding the debate on what to do, when I renewed my first aid ticket 2 months ago one of the key messages was that doing something, and starting quickly, is better than doing nothing and/or delaying.
I'm sure that's what you guys did, and you saved Dave's life.
Our thoughts go out to Dave for his continued recovery.
We've had plenty of enquiries about David on our Caloundra Kitesurfing Club Facebook page.
On behalf of all the members of CKC please pass our best wishes to David. And well done to those involved in his rescue and recovery.
Dave McIntyre
CKC
Thanks for sharing and well done for a tremendous effort by all concerned
get well soon mate
Just got home from visiting Davo. He's powering along and may even get out on the weekend. Kite on Davo.
Memories flood back of friend who died from a heart attack while we were kite surfing. All our CPR attempts could not save him. He was very fit at and at the age of 40 did not know that he had a heart defect. Being married to a Dr. I realise that if a good specialist had listened to his heart they would have know he had this problem. Thank God you guys managed to help your friend in time.
Well done guys, can I suggest you post a link or repeat the original post in the general forum section of Seabreeze, the importance of looking out for mates and knowing what to do in the event of an emergency is not specific to kite boarding but relates to all sports covered by the site.
Davo, you are one lucky son of a .... To have come out the other side of this!
Well done great outcome makes me think twice about kiting by myself which is often now
