Former Wiggle welcomes zapper at far north Queensland sports club
Richard Dinnen - Queensland Editor |
Far north Queensland locals will long remember the day former Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, came to visit.
He was there for the launch of the Goldsborough region’s first community Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
Goldsborough is on the Mulgrave River about 30 kilometres south of Cairns, far enough from town that emergency medical care can take a while.
The Goldsborough Karate Club raised $3,000 to install the defibrillator in the community. When Greg Page heard about it, he travelled north to meet them.
Cairns Police Dog Squad Sergeant, Dave Raymond, was involved in the AED project.
Sergeant Raymond said Greg owed his life to a defibrillator.
“He suffered a sudden cardiac arrest after leaving the stage of a Wiggles performance in 2020.
“A crucial part of his survival was the timely use of an AED.
“After his release from hospital, Greg made it his passion to get defibrillators in every community in Australia through his charity, Heart of the Nation.”
Greg said having an AED within three minutes of someone can increase survival rates by 200-300 per cent.
“My life was saved because of bystanders who knew how to do CPR and the fact that there was an AED nearby when I went into cardiac arrest, and people knew where it was.”
Sergeant Raymond said the AED launch was a memorable event at the Mountain View Hotel, and yes, Greg did belt out a few famous Wiggles tunes.
“I’m honoured to be part of this important project in the Goldsborough community.
“Information on where your closest AED can be found simply by downloading the Heart of the Nation App. You never know when you may need one.”
