Support for Petra

Petra is a beautiful soul who has touched the lives of many and inspired everyone who knows her with her strength and kindness. She has an amazing spirit and zest for life, and is always the first person to offer to help if anyone she knows is in need.
 
Now it’s our turn to help Petra. For those that don’t already know, our surfing instructor, happy go lucky Petra collapsed while running along Elwood beach at just 35 years of age. Unbeknown to Petra, she was born with a rare heart condition and had been living with a ticking time bomb in her chest. 

Born in Germany, but having made Melbourne her home for the last six years, Petra had only recently arrived back in her adopted city after returning to Germany following the passing of her beloved father. 

Having already completed three triathlons in the last three years, Petra was in training for a half marathon. While on one of her regular evening runs, the ticking time bomb in her chest finally exploded and she collapsed. Her heart failed and never regained function, and she was rushed to The Alfred Hospital where she remained in the Intensive Care Unit for around two months. 

Despite having been clinically dead for nearly 40 minutes, and having faced and defeated death many times over those two months, Petra has remained strong and continued to fight for her life. Supported by her loving family and friends, and the highly skilled staff at The Alfred Hospital, she made a truly miraculous recovery. 


But her heart was never going to recover, and her only chance of survival was a heart transplant. The miracles continued when a heart became available for her within only a week. 

Petra has continued to break all the rules with rapid recovery and determination, using saline bags as weights to build her strength while confined to her hospital bed, being the first person that The Alfred Hospital has ever witnessed walking while connected to the heart bypass machine, and leaving the hospital in record time after her transplant. 

Her story is so extraordinary that she made it onto every Australian commercial television station news and the local newspaper.

Channel Ten News 

Channel 7 News   

Herald Sun Online 


Now that Petra is home, she has already resumed her training, and now she has set her sights even higher. Her goal is to be back on her surfboard in 12 months, and to participate in an IronMan in five years. We know that she will get there - people who receive heart transplants go on to live very full lives and Petra has already proven herself to be a fighter.

But the road ahead for Petra is still very long. She is very fortunate to be able to receive all the emotional support that she needs from her friends and family, but her medical and living expenses are going to continue to build up. 

Her condition means that she will not be able to return to work for at least 10 months. The Australian public health system does not cover the full cost of her medications, which is significant and will continue for the rest of her life. Additionally, she has all the usual living expenses to pay for - rent, utilities, phone, car registration and insurance, groceries, etc. She also has to find and move into a new apartment in the next few months, which is an additional expense. Living away from the country of her birth means that she is unable to stay in her family home while she recovers, so all of these expenses will need to be covered while she gets back on her feet again. 

Petra would be so grateful if could offer her whatever help you can, whether it be sharing her story with your friends and family, or making a financial contribution to help her during this time. 

Keep your eye on this page as we´ll be updating it regularly so that you can share Petra´s journey toward completing her first IronMan. We promise that it will be inspirational!