Members of the Williamstown Superules Football Club displayed a different kind of teamwork when they saved team mate Peter Rayson’s life.
The team was in full pre-season swing in early February when 73-year-old Mr Rayson went into cardiac arrest on the field.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesperson said Mr Rayson’s teammates wasted no time and immediately started CPR, called triple zero and grabbed a nearby automated external defibrillator (AED).
The team performed continuous CPR and delivered two shocks from the AED, causing Mr Rayson to regain consciousness before paramedics arrived.
Williamstown Superules Football Club Supers over 35s men’s senior coach Andrew Bryson said everyone was surprisingly calm as they worked to save Mr Rayson’s life.
“There was no panic and a few of us had CPR training,” he said.
“There were people helping to do the compressions, setting up the defib, making sure others nearby were calm, and someone coordinating the triple zero call.
“We all worked together and there was a sense of calm as everyone knew what they needed to do.”
After playing AFL for 61 years, Mr Rayson said his near-death experience wasn’t going to stop him from enjoying one of his favourite sports, as he returned to the field only 113 days after his cardiac arrest.
With a new lease on life, Mr Rayson has made it his mission to promote bystander intervention and the number of publicly accessible defibrillators by volunteering his time to speak to other organisations and football clubs.
“I want everyone to learn how to do CPR and how to use a defibrillator,” he said.
“I want people to know those skills so they can immediately jump in and help if someone needs it. If it weren’t for the people who applied it to me, I wouldn’t be here today.”
Now one year on, Mr Rayson and his team mates have gathered at the same location for another football camp.
Mr Bryson saying it was special to have Mr Rayson back on the field.
“There’s still emotion attached to the incident,” he said.
“It’s pretty special that he’s still here and now there’s a connection that all of us will have forever.”
