Registered nurse Grace Jones was attending the Wiggles reunion concert when Greg Page collapsed. Photo / News Corp Australia
Registered nurse Grace Jones was attending the Wiggles reunion concert when Greg Page collapsed. Photo / News Corp Australia
The nurse who shocked Yellow Wiggle Greg Page back to life after he collapsed at the end of a Sydney bushfire relief concert has said "I don't really think of myself as a hero".
Grace Jones, a nurse at Sydney's Royal North Shore Hospital, was a fan of the Wigglesback when she was a child and jumped at the chance to see the originals reunite for a concert to raise funds for the ongoing bushfire crisis at Castle Hill RSL, in the city's north west.
But the Friday night concert didn't end the way Ms Jones thought it would when Page, 48, walked off stage and collapsed.
He had been feeling unwell throughout the concert but decided to push through, performing the band's second last song before walking off. It was later revealed he had suffered a heart blockage.
Wiggles' Greg Page and Anthony Field onstage at Castle Hill RSL. Photo / News Corp Australia
Backstage, the 23-year-old saw drummer Steve Pace and crew member Kimmy Antonell performing CPR.
Taking charge, Ms Jones started doing CPR and went into work mode.
"I've been trained to do that and I kind of flicked a switch. I went in and I just used all the knowledge that helped him, and saved him," she told reporters yesterday.
Ms Jones then used a defibrillator three times to shock Page, miraculously getting his heart pumping again.
"I didn't go to the concert expecting to do that so it all feels a bit surreal. I do stuff like that every day at work that I have never had to do it without equipment," Ms Jones said.
Ms Jones worked on Page for 20 minutes before paramedics arrived.
Intensive care paramedic Brian Parsell said Ms Jones was an integral part of saving Page's life.
Intensive Care Paramedic Brian Parsell with Grace Jones. Photo / News Corp Australia
"We found Greg was unconscious at that point but he had cardiac output, his heart was actually beating," Mr Parsell said.
"It's only through the efforts of the bystanders before we arrived that he's alive today … It was actually an extraordinary story of survival.
"It is a reason why he is here today. And that is really, the hero of the story here today is Grace who was brave enough to step forward. We are good paramedics and we do a great job, but it helps when there are people there doing what needs to be done before we arrive."
Yesterday, Blue Wiggle Anthony Field described his relief and gratitude at the actions of the three people who helped save the life of his fellow bandmate.
"He was gone really," Field told reporters. "He came off stage and there was no pulse, there was no breathing."
Field became emotional as he recalled Friday night's events, saying drummer Steve Pace and staff member Kimmy Antonelli, gave Field CPR, while Ms Jones used a defibrillator on him.
"They really brought Greg back," Field said.
He said Page was doing "really good" and a stent had been inserted in his body.
"He's talking, he wants the show to go on," Field said before the Wiggles took to the stage last night.
"He's doing a lot better than I am at the moment," he joked.
Grace with her brother Jessie Williams at the Wiggles' bushfire concert. Photo / News Corp Australia
"The guy's amazing, he's just a positive man.
"It is frightening to see a friend really in a bad way like that and I'm just glad that the guys could bring him back."
A photo of Page in hospital giving the "thumbs up" was shared to the band's official Facebook page early Saturday afternoon, along with a message announcing that tonight's sold-out show would go ahead without him.
We have visited Greg this morning and he wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes. Greg and his family are so...
