"I was actually dead. I was just lucky a couple of fellows commenced CPR."
- Max Holmes
When Max Holmes decided to join mates for a relaxing round of golf at Port Fairy on December 28, he never imagined he would wake up in a hospital bed in Geelong.
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The 77-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and had to be revived by friends and club professional Anthony Warburton.
"I just blacked out," Mr Holmes said.
"I was actually dead. I was just lucky a couple of fellows commenced CPR."
In addition to that, Mr Warburton grabbed the club's defibrillator and was able to stabilise Mr Holmes before paramedics arrived.
He was then flown to the Geelong hospital by the HEMS 4 air ambulance helicopter.
Mr Holmes spent two weeks in intensive care and had a new pacemaker installed.
He said he was lucky to be alive and would be forever grateful to his friends who had snapped into action when he collapsed.
Mr Holmes said the fact he had beaten the odds was not lost on him. He said the generosity and support from well wishes would make his long road to recovery so much shorter.
"I cannot thank you all enough," he said.
Mr Holmes said he had some issues speaking in the first few weeks after the heart attack.
But he is slowly recovering and undergoing physiotherapy and speech therapy.
One thing is for sure, Mr Holmes has no plans to retire his golf clubs anytime soon.
"Give me a month and I'll be back," he said.
Mr Holmes said he had thanked the people who had revived him but no words could express his appreciation.
Port Fairy Golf Club president Stephen Uebergang praised the actions of those involved in saving Mr Holmes.
"It was lucky we had the defibrillator sitting there," he said. Mr Uebergang said Mr Holmes collapsed on the second hole. He said he believed it was the first time the defibrillator had been used. "Anthony and the members who started CPR saved his life," Mr Uebergang said. "Ambulance Victoria was also very quick to respond.
"We're lucky enough to be talking about a good result, not a bad result."
Mr Uebergang said he hoped Mr Holmes would be back on the course enjoying a round soon.
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