Heart-felt thanks for a life saved
“I remember hearing about his research and its potential to help patients, and thinking, “Pick me James!” It was very exciting.”
One Spring evening in 2014, Akeke Kavana left home, as usual, to go to work. By the next afternoon, Akeke was in a life-threatening condition in Westmead Hospital, under the dedicated care of Professor James Chong.
Akeke is a crane driver in the construction industry and was working long nights. It was during one such night when Akeke says he started to feel pain in his chest.
“It was very painful, but I continued working and finished up at about 5am. I drove home and, usually I would then drive my partner to work, but this day, I was in too much pain to drive her.
“I tried to sleep, and then I went to see my GP. She did some tests and said she would call me with the results. She sent me home, but later in the afternoon she called and told me to go straight to hospital because I was having a heart attack.
“When I arrived, they rushed me straight in. I was in hospital for a couple of days before they put in two stents. That was a very weird experience because I was awake during the procedure, and able to watch what they were doing on the monitor.”
Akeke responded well, and only one week later, he was back at work. Not long after, he was also back playing golf, a pastime he loves.
Akeke admits that, even after the heart attack, he was leading a hectic lifestyle. He wonders if this may have contributed to what happened next.
On a hot January day in 2019, Akeke had just finished working another long shift driving cranes.
He explains, “I got home and I was in the kitchen and had just put the jug on to boil when I suddenly collapsed.”
Akeke was having a stroke. An ambulance rushed him to hospital, and he was there for six weeks.
“This was a very confronting time for me. In the beginning, I wasn’t allowed to sit up – I had to stay flat. I couldn’t speak for a while, and that was scary and frustrating. My partner tried to explain everything to me and keep me calm.
“In hospital, I kept asking myself, “Why me?” I do think my lifestyle played a part. Some days, I was living on four hours sleep. After a 10-minute nap, I felt like I could go another 24 hours. I felt like Superman. So, when I was in hospital, I kept saying to myself, “You stupid boy!”
Though he was quickly back to work and normal life after the heart attack, recovering from the stroke took longer. It was seven months before Akeke got his car licence again and was able to get to the golf club to play golf, and 10 months before he was allowed to get his construction licences again so that he could return to work.
Further tragedy followed when Akeke’s beloved partner passed away from a heart condition a year and half a after his stroke. She was only 52.
Akeke says that, after her death, there was a period where he struggled to find a reason to live. “I wanted to live, but it was hard.”
“A year and a half later, my life changed again when my grandson was born. Now I’ve found a new lease on life. Now I want to live until I’m 100!”
Together, these events have changed Akeke’s outlook on life.
“Now, I’m always telling my family and friends to look after themselves, especially the young ones. I’ve changed what I eat. I don’t drink soft drinks or alcohol anymore, and I try to avoid ice cream and cake (although that is hard). In hospital they also told me not to drink cold water. So, I’ve trained myself to only drink warm water.”
Akeke still sees Professor James Chong regularly for check-ups. One evening, while watching the nightly news, Akeke was happily surprised to see Professor Chong on television.
Professor James Chong is Co- Director of WIMR’s Centre for Heart Research and Head of WIMR’s Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory, as well as being an interventional cardiologist at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital. When Akeke saw Professor Chong on the television, he was being interviewed about his research at WIMR, where he is developing new and more effective treatments for repairing and regenerating the heart.
“I saw James on the television talking about his research and I was excited to see my cardiologist on TV. I remember hearing about his research and its potential to help patients, and thinking, “Pick me James!” It was very exciting.
“I am incredibly grateful to Professor Chong, and I’m astounded by his talent and dedication to work as a cardiologist and as a researcher. How many people can go inside the body and manipulate an organ like the heart? It’s incredible. He is so smart!”
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