Nurse Saves Grandfather's Life With CPR During Heart Attack

Jeannie Poletti was visiting her mother in Geraldton, Western Australia, when her phone rang with every family member's worst nightmare.

Her grandmother was frantic. Jim Webb, Poletti's 79-year-old grandfather, had collapsed at home and stopped breathing.

Poletti, a nurse with nine years of experience and a St John WA volunteer ambulance officer since 2014, immediately called emergency services and raced to her grandparents' house. When she arrived, her grandfather was slumped in his chair, his skin an alarming color, struggling to breathe.

"I just got him onto the floor and started CPR straight away," the 30-year-old said. She connected him to his home oxygen supply and continued chest compressions while waiting for help to arrive.

On the other end of the emergency line, dispatcher Tracy Kim guided Poletti through those critical minutes. The professional paramedic team reached the Webb household within 10 minutes of the call.

What followed was a relentless 30-minute battle for Jim's life. Paramedics Stacey Burton, Lorna Teakle, and Dan Jocelyn, along with volunteer Karen Yardley, worked alongside Poletti to stabilize him. They shocked his heart 14 times with a defibrillator as his pulse kept failing.

"When we arrived, Jeannie was doing very good compressions, and he was lying flat in a nice open space, which made life easier for us," Burton said. "By the time we got to hospital, we finally got him back."

The next day, Poletti walked into the hospital room wondering if her grandfather would recognize her. He did, and the reunion left her overwhelmed.

Sunny's Take

Jim Webb now has an implantable defibrillator in his chest and is back to his daily routine on the family farm, feeding his chickens and spending time with his wife Sue, their children, 11 grandchildren, and 28 great-grandchildren.

"It is a magnificent thought that I am still here," he said. "They all obviously went above and beyond to bring me back and keep me here."

St John WA recognized Poletti's vital role with a certificate of recognition, but the real reward was much simpler. Her grandfather gets to watch his family grow, share stories at dinner tables, and wake up each morning to the sound of chickens waiting for breakfast.

According to St John WA, Poletti's early CPR was the crucial factor that made Jim's survival possible, highlighting why first aid training matters for everyone, not just healthcare workers.

For Poletti, the experience reinforced why she chose both nursing and volunteer work. Sometimes the lives you save aren't strangers, they're the people who taught you to love deeply and act quickly when it counts.