Former Australian cricketer Ryan Campbell is in a coma after having a heart attack over the Easter weekend. He is 50 years old.
“Cambo is currently in intensive care in a London hospital after suffering a heart attack on Sunday,” his friend and former colleague Gareth Parker said on Perth radio station 6PR on Tuesday morning.
“As of 45 minutes ago, he was still unresponsive and in a coma – though he has, under the care of his doctors, made some attempts, successfully, to breathe on his own.”
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Campbell visited Perth in the week before Easter before travelling to the UK to see his wife Leontina’s family – and their loved ones in Australia were informed of the situation on Sunday morning.
Parker said that Campbell was at a playground with his kids when he abruptly had to lay down and had trouble breathing – thankfully, a passerby who had recently completed a CPR course stayed with him and administered aid until an ambulance arrived.
“Ryan had a pulse when paramedics arrived about 15 minutes later, he has been in hospital since,” Parker said.
https://omny.fm/shows/6pr-breakfast/6-57-am-6pr-breakfast-with-gareth-parker
“He has begun partially breathing on his own, his blood pressure is good, so those are good signs – doctors don’t believe there’s damage to the heart but they haven’t been able to figure out exactly what’s going on just yet.”
Campbell was one of the biggest victims of Australia’s golden era, only playing two ODIs for Australia in 2002, spending his career stuck behind Adam Gilchrist in the pecking order.
Many will remember him as one of the early pioneers of the ‘ramp shot’, both for Western Australia and during his Australian appearances.
In 2017, he became the coach of the Dutch international team.
Campbell will spend another night in an induced coma before doctors attempt to bring him out of it on Wednesday (AEST).
“I saw him last week, and he looked fit as a fiddle,” Parker said.
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