A Canterbury farmer’s brush with death

When a Hawarden dairy farmer began experiencing mild chest pains one morning, he had no idea he’d soon be getting airlifted to hospital with a life-threatening heart attack.  

Two days earlier, Mark Hassall had been out on a 10km run. He felt a bit light-headed the next day but brushed it off as being dehydrated from running in the sweltering January heat earlier this year. 

The following morning, the 66-year-old went out on the farm to get some work done, despite still feeling a bit off. He began with the comfortable task of spraying some wild blackberry when he started to feel worse.  

“I started getting chest pains, they didn’t feel very severe, but it was certainly uncomfortable. I just felt yuck, and I knew something wasn’t right.”  

Mark returned to the house to have a rest and told his partner Jeanine he might have to go to the medical centre, but as the pain intensified, Jeanine insisted on calling an ambulance.  

Paramedics arrived to assess Mark and quickly made the call that a helicopter was needed. Within 20 minutes, the Canterbury Westpac Rescue Helicopter arrived, and Mark was being loaded in.  

“I was hyperventilating, I didn’t really know what was going on, so I was quite pleased to see the helicopter,” Mark said.  

“Within an hour, I was at Christchurch Hospital. It was very fast. I was incredibly fortunate that the helicopter came, as we’re about an hour and a half out of Christchurch.”  

Hospital staff discovered one of Mark’s coronary arteries was completely blocked, and a stent was inserted via a catheter threaded from his vein to his heart.  

“They told me my heart was functioning at about 35 per cent of what it should be after the heart attack, so it was quite serious,” Mark said.  

“The ambulance and helicopter paramedics did a fantastic job at getting me the help I needed. There was even a trainee, so it must have been stressful for him.”  

After spending three nights at Christchurch Hospital, Mark was released with strict instructions to take it easy, something that doesn’t come naturally to the active farmer.  

He’s now able to do most work on the farm, but doesn’t push it, knowing his heart won’t be able to function at the level it was before his heart attack.  

“It was a pretty scary experience, especially for my partner. I’m really grateful to everyone who helped, particularly for how quickly they got me to the hospital,” Mark said.  

“The ambo staff thought I might go into cardiac arrest when they were assessing me, but I didn’t, the old heart kept ticking, which was good,” he chuckled.  

Mark, who has donated to the Westpac Rescue Helicopters previously, was looking forward to the Night for Flight event.  

“It’s a brilliant initiative. The work they do is absolutely vital for our rural communities, and I’m keen to support them however I can.”