When 50-year-old Ben Hamilton laced up his basketball shoes on May 13, he never would have expected to be rushed into a rescue helicopter after suffering a cardiac arrest on the court.
It had been just another day for the Chemist Warehouse assistant manager, but after going up for a rebound during basketball practice at the Craighead Diocesan School gym, he fell unconscious and suffered a cardiac event.
Thanks to the efforts of his High School Old Boys teammates — in particular Ben Robinson, who administered CPR to him for 15 minutes straight — and an AED (automated external defibrillator), Mr Hamilton was kept alive long enough to be transferred from an ambulance into a Canterbury West Coast Air Rescue helicopter, which had landed in nearby West End Park, and flown to Christchurch Hospital.
Fortunately, one of the rescue helicopter paramedics was also in Timaru on her day off and responded to the job through a GoodSAM alert (an app which alerts people to suspected cardiac arrests nearby).
After undergoing surgery and getting fitted with a heart stent, Mr Hamilton is now at home recovering.
He said his memories of the event were very fragmented.
“I don’t remember a lot leading in. I know I was at work but I don’t remember what I did at work. I remember coming home and having a couple of hours to kill before practice.
“I remember having a protein shake and vaguely deciding what sneakers to wear. I remember being excited that my brother was going to be there, because he hadn’t played in a while.
“I remember getting to practice, and playing a bit. I don’t remember any of the attack, any of the CPR, or really anything that happened in the gym itself.”
The memories became clearer after being loaded in to the helicopter, he said.
“The first thing I can remember hearing and being able to recall was one of the paramedics talking to my wife Rebecca, telling her, ‘come over here, you’re his wife, sit down here, hold his hand’.
“At that stage I was blind, my body apparently had pretty much shut everything down except what it needed. I vaguely remember hearing the paramedics when we landed going, ‘what the hell was that?’ after I power chucked all over them.
“Then nothing until I woke up in Christchurch, very confused, with a frightened mum and wife looking at me.
“After that, it was just slowly recovering and seeing my family go from scared, super scared and super worried to seeing them slowly start smiling, laughing when I laughed and actually realising that I wasn’t covering anything with my jokes.”
He had met up with his basketball team last week, who filled in some of the missing details for him, Mr Hamilton said.
“Apparently I jumped up to go for a rebound, missed the rebound, came down to land and that’s when it happened.
“Initially my brother was like ‘oh, old man needs a rest’, and then it was like, ‘oh, old man’s not moving’. Ben Robinson performed CPR on me for 15 minutes and he did it right because my ribs are very cracked, bruised and damaged.”
It was amazing how quickly a bad thing could happen but how quickly it could be resolved if you were in the right place with the right people, he said.
“Ben, this guy who I only really know through basketball, did something that other people would walk away from or be too scared to try.
“It shows how awesome people can be and how important it is to know first aid, keep calm in situations like that and how important services like the Westpac helicopter are.
“Without all of those things, I’d be dead. The first response crew was amazing and it also highlighted for me how important having an accessible AED was because I had to be shocked twice in the gym and once in the ambulance.”
He was extremely grateful to the individuals that had saved his life and hoped his story highlighted the importance of emergency services and looking after your overall health.
“That helicopter saves lives. That one that was flying over your house at 600 feet had me in it. Next week, it might have you in it; give them some money. It annoys me that things like the helicopter and ambulances aren’t fully funded by the government.
“If something doesn’t feel quite right, even if you think you are fit and healthy, it’s worth going to a doctor and for people who go through a traumatic event, get help.
“It’s 2026, there’s nothing shameful about asking for some help after nearly seeing your brother or team-mate die. It’s not just me who is affected, it’s my family, my team and my kids.”
Recovery was going well and he appreciated all the support he had received, he said.
“I think, fingers crossed, I will recover quicker than the 70-year-olds [mentioned in the recovery programme], just because I was reasonably fit to start with.
“I’m off work for four weeks while I recover and then after that, it’s a couple of weeks of light duties at work.
“To be honest, I’m feeling better than I did before I went to basketball that night.”
