Peel region cyclist has life saved by 'guardian angels'

The long-time cyclist was out for a routine ride with his friend Keith on Friday, April 3, but things turned south when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest on the bike path not far from the Pinjarra Road freeway exit.

Riding behind Keith, Bob was able to get out a brief shout before toppling from his bike and collapsing on the ground.

In any normal circumstance, the heart attack would have led Bob to his death.

But a miraculous turn of events saw registered nurse Liz Terry, her husband Simon and police officer Hayden Brown on the scene within a minute of Bob's collapse.

Hours earlier, nursing sore legs, Liz had just been persuaded by Simon to head out for their own ride with Hayden that morning.

The trio had originally planned to venture well short of the Pinjarra Road checkpoint, but decided on a whim to go the distance.

That off-the-cuff decision ultimately saved Bob's life.

After spotting a fluro yellow top sprawled out on the ground, Liz rushed to Bob's aid.

"My immediate thought was that he was dead. He wasn't breathing," she said.

"I quickly turned him over and started doing compressions, while Hayden helped stabilise his head and keep the airways clear."

Both Liz and Hayden administered CPR for the next 15-20 minutes, with five of Bob's ribs breaking in the process.

"At that point you just have to keep the compressions going, it's the only way he's going to live," Liz, who amazingly instructs a course on CPR, said.

Eventually a pair of ambulances arrived to rush Bob to Peel Health Campus, where he was put into an induced coma and transported to Fiona Stanley's Intensive Care Unit.

He remained in ICU for the better part of a week, eventually coming out of the coma on Monday, April 6 with extremely positive results.

Bob's tale of survival is nothing short of a miracle, with the cyclist eternally thankful to the "guardian angels" that saved his life on the bike path.

"It's incredible that I'm still alive," he said.

"Any other day, I'd probably be riding alongside regular people that just don't have the skills to perform resuscitation like that, and I'd be dead.

"I can't thank them enough."

For Bob, the near-death experience is a stark reminder to the importance of being trained in CPR.

"After what happened to me, I strongly encourage everyone to make sure they're trained in CPR," he said.

"Hopefully it's a skill you'd never have to use, but it can be the difference between someone dying and living.

"Without those qualified people, I wouldn't be here today."

Courses on how to provide CPR can be found online, including on the St John WA website.