Kelsey shares her dad's story: 'Losing him was a complete shock'

When Kelsey was 25, her beloved dad, ‘Chrisso’ had a fatal cardiac event, leaving the close-knit family completely devastated. Now, the Melbourne paramedic and critical care nurse is on a mission to save as many lives as she can in her dad’s name. This is their story.

Kelsey Hibberd used to love watching her dad compete in triathlons as a little girl, cheering him on from the sidelines with her three siblings Jacqueline, Sean and Olivia and mum, Julie.

Chris, or ‘Chrisso’ as Kelsey affectionately called him, was always very fit, healthy and active.

“My dad was an incredible man,” the 28-year-old Melbourne paramedic and critical care nurse recalls. “Born in Bendigo, he was fiercely loyal, he was funny, and he was the greatest dad.

“He was at every milestone, every sporting event, every special moment. His family were his pride and joy. His everything.

“I honestly had the most perfect childhood. My mum and dad created the most amazing home and family and raised us to be so close. Married for 30 years, they were known as the ultimate team."

“We are just grateful to have an amazing support network. We also have hundreds of hours of home videos to look back on. Dad captured everything he could. We now treasure these home videos more than anything.”

Kelsey had always dreamed of becoming a paramedic. As a little girl with severe asthma, she can distinctly remember many trips in the back of an ambulance. She started her nursing career in the emergency department before moving to the intensive care and trauma unit, then finally her dream came true – Kelsey became a paramedic for Ambulance Victoria.

“It was a bittersweet moment of success,” she admits. “I felt the highest of highs with a pinch of sadness that dad wasn’t there to see it. I did it for myself, but the flame grew even stronger when dad left us.

"Every victory in my life is all thanks to him and mum. And what a privilege it is to help people the way paramedics helped our family that day.”

Kelsey’s quest is to raise as much money as possible to put towards HRI’s groundbreaking research to prevent, detect and treat CVD. Her fundraiser ‘Tri 4 Chrisso’ is a tribute to her dad, Chris Hibberd, with 100 per cent of money being donated to HRI.

“I’ve set myself the challenge of completing five triathlons over the next three months and have raised over $11,000 so far,” she exclaims. “Ultimately, I just want to avoid people losing their loved ones like we lost dad.”

“My mission is to keep his name alive and to say it proudly, so that he lives on through his family. My mission is to always display his core values of strength, resilience, loyalty, protection and unconditional love to everyone we meet,” she says.

"My dad was known as a gladiator, and I hope I can always show that same warrior spirit over the next few months.”

It all circles back to Kelsey’s upbringing and her drive to pursue a career in healthcare from a young age.

“I have always thought of myself as extremely lucky - for my childhood, my parents and my siblings. And I truly believe that when you’re given such blessings in life, you need to do something worthy with them.

“And for me, that is helping people who are in the middle of a health crisis.

“As we learnt on the day dad died, the impact you have as a healthcare provider is profound for patients and their family who are at their most vulnerable,” she adds.

“Even more importantly, the role we play during death is so pivotal to the family’s grieving process. I am extremely privileged to be granted passage into someone’s home during such incredibly vulnerable moments of their life.”