Dirk Annemans is an absolute champion of the Northern Rescue helicopters.

That’s because he has benefited from two life-saving flights following cardiac episodes – the first time in November 2012 and again on May 26, 2023.

Ironically, before that first flight, Dirk used to wave at the Northern Rescue choppers as they flew on by. He still does but with a prayer for those on board having been that guy twice.

While the first flight was a close call with death, the second was far worse with Dirk ultimately dying a handful of times over several days.

After feeling unwell on a drive home to Dargaville, Dirk was soon reliving a process he had been through all those years before.

Within a matter of hours, he had been transferred from Dargaville Hospital to Whangārei Base Hospital before being flown by a Northern Rescue Helicopter to Auckland City Hospital for urgent cardiac care.

“On my drive home, I received nine shocks from my implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). After I arrived at Whangārei Base Hospital on a Friday May 26, I had 49 shocks from it and 89 electrical storms in my heart over five hours and that is when I passed away and was resuscitated by the Emergency Department.”

He was flown from Whangārei Base Hospital to ICU in Auckland overnight.

Dirk died again in hospital the following Tuesday and was revived once again.

“I died for a third time on the Thursday while on the operating table. On Friday morning they put in a new ICD and on Saturday told me I could go home.”

Heading into 2026, the 71-year-old is looking forward to a year of adventures, starting with packing kiwifruit for a few months while cruising New Zealand in his campervan and then heading to Japan and Europe on a couple of holidays.

Dirk remembers well his first life-saving flight in a Northern Rescue Helicopter.

Back in 2012 Dirk had started to feel unwell, was lethargic and had lost his appetite.

So, he went to his doctor for a check-up and life soon turned upside down.

“It was crazy,” says Dirk. “They hooked me up to a heart monitor and told me that my heart was beating at 240 beats per minute – that’s four beats per second!”

Steve and Paul, the medical team at Rawene Hospital that attended to Dirk, established intravenous lines to deliver medication that could stabilise him and bring his heart rate down.

They had already decided that Dirk should be transferred to Whangārei Hospital, but making the trip in the rescue helicopter with such a high heart rate would not do him any favours.

After an hour and a half, Dirk’s heartbeat was still fluctuating.

“I coughed and it went down to 78 beats for ten minutes and then back up to 228,” explains Dirk.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened next, as I was heavily medicated, but I know that my late wife Irma was impressed with the guys on the helicopter.”

“I encourage people to support our Northern Rescue Helicopters by giving as much or as little as you can. Every dollar helps and I still donate,” says Dirk.

“You just never know when you might need them and we should be grateful to have them around – they save lives. In a phone call, they can be right there with you and then get you to the place that you need to be, quickly. Believe me, their paramedics and pilots are amazing. I am so lucky and blessed to still be here and I will continue living life to the max!”

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