A mother and daughter duo are being hailed as heroes for saving the life of a veteran umpire who suffered a cardiac arrest during a local football match in Victoria. Rachel and Georgia Ploegsma, both registered nurses, sprang into action when 68-year-old John Bonfadini collapsed during the Round 7 seniors game between Coldstream and Silvan.
Quick Response Saves Life
Georgia Ploegsma was at the match to watch her partner, Coldstream captain Darcy Fritsch, play. She was preparing to jump the fence when she heard her boyfriend urgently calling her name. 'I was looking and had my leg over the fence ready to go, and then I heard ... Darcy screaming 'Georgia, quick, come onto the ground',' she recalled. 'I just jumped the fence, I had slides on and couldn't run so I kicked them off, chucked my can away and ran straight out to the middle.'
Her mother Rachel, also in attendance, joined her daughter on the field. 'When I got to the middle my mum was there, she was on the other side of the field and heard someone call out for a defib so she ran out too,' Georgia said. 'We got to the middle at the same time, looked at each other and were like, 'sh**, we need to do something here'.'
CPR and Defibrillation
The trainers were already trying to get a response from Bonfadini, but Georgia quickly realized the severity of the situation. 'He was blue, not breathing, mum tried to find a pulse and couldn't, we just looked at each other and were like 'nup, we need to do this',' she said. 'I started CPR on him and mum was doing mouth to mouth, and then the defib got brought out to us.'
Despite the chaos, Georgia remained focused. 'I didn't even remember what was going on around me, I was just working so hard to save someone's life and when he took that break it was 'thank god',' she added.
Umpire's Road to Recovery
John Bonfadini is now set to undergo triple heart bypass surgery. Once recovered, he plans to return to his passions, including umpiring, golf, and the gym. 'Once the pipes are clean and they've done the bypass I won't have a problem and I'll be back umpiring and doing everything normal within 12 weeks,' he said. He also highlighted the positive outcome, noting that the incident has raised awareness about hidden health issues. 'One of the positives is it made a lot of people aware that you can be very fit, however not know what's happening inside,' Bonfadini remarked.
