Greg Page (aka Greg Wiggle), formerly of The Wiggles, is on a mission to set a new world record and save some lives from cardiac arrest in the process.
Page has teamed up with some celebrity friends, Surf Live Saving NSW and online neighbourhood club, Nextdoor, to try and break the world record for the most people trained in CPR and AED (Automated External Defibrillation) in one virtual class.
The beloved original ‘yellow Wiggle’ suffered a cardiac arrest on stage earlier this year while performing a bushfire relief concert with The Wiggles, and now runs Heart of the Nation, a not-for-profit organisation working to get as many defibrillators into the community as possible.
“Given that the Australian Resuscitation Council states that ‘any attempt at resuscitation is better than no attempt’, our goal is to get as many people as possible educated about this mantra, and confident enough to have a go at CPR if they ever need to,” Page said.
Page was saved by bystanders at the concert who performed CPR and used the venue’s defibrillator.
The survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is just 10%, while bystander CPR and the early use of a defibrillator can increase the chances of survival by about 70%.
The world record attempt will take place online on Saturday 19 September at 7pm and will be live-streamed to the registered participants. The ‘edu-tainment’ event will also include musical performances, a training session from Surf Live Saving NSW, and a special performance of Hot Potato by the original Wiggles, who will be performing together for the first time since the bushfire relief concert.
The Aussie neighbourhood with the most registered attendees will win a song about their neighbourhood composed by Page, a free AED for a central community location in the area and a (covid-safe) celebration for the community thrown by Nextdoor.
For more information or to register for the class for free, visit the Nextdoor website.
