Gary de Wit thanks rescuers

Mr De Wit said saying thank you was not enough and the men would be 'mates for life'.

The five men performed CPR on Mr De Wit and assisted paramedics after he suffered a cardiac arrest on a roof on October 11.

Mr De Wit had to be lifted off the roof with a front-end loader and was transported to Wimmera Base Hospital before being transferred to a hospital in Box Hill.

Ambulance Victoria paramedic team manager Paul Burton presented TJ Hobbs, Claude Gaspirini, Dylan Carroll, Matthew Op de Coul and Josh Williams with a certificate of commendation and a letter from Ambulance Victoria chief executive Greg Sassella at a ceremony in Horsham Ambulance Station yesterday.

Mr De Wit said he did not remember the incident and woke up in hospital six days later.

"Josh said to me that I told him I was not feeling well and shouldn't be on the roof," he said.

"I was heading towards the ladder and then all of a sudden my boots were facing the sky."

Mr De Wit said he would be forever thankful to his workmates and the paramedics who saved his life.

"Without them I wouldn't be here today," he said. "Thanks just doesn't seem to be enough."

Mr De Wit said the incident had taken its toll on his wife Kathy and daughters Sophie, 14, and Lucy, 12.

"Kathy has been my rock," he said.

"She was the one who had to hear all the bad news and I just had a long sleep."

Mrs De Wit said she was in disbelief when she was told her husband had suffered a cardiac arrest.

"None of the news I was getting was good," she said. "They didn't give him any chance. It's unbelievable and it is a credit to the work of everybody here and in Melbourne.

"All I could do was pray and to see him here, just as he was, is amazing. It's a remarkable story."

Tiler TJ Hobbs said the best part of yesterday's ceremony was seeing Mr De Wit alive and well.

"It makes you feel good that your actions have meant he can go home to his wife and two daughters," he said.

Mr Hobbs said the incident had been traumatic for everyone involved.

"I didn't sleep from the Monday through to Thursday," he said.

"I just kept going over and over it in my head reliving it.

"We got a call when he first woke up and we were kept informed all the time."

Mr Hobbs said it was fantastic to see Mr De Wit when he arrived at his work site last week for morning tea.

"It's good to see he hasn't lost his sense of humour," he said.

"From the first day we saw him again he was cracking jokes."

Front-end loader driver Matt Op de Coul said he was proud of his actions but felt weird being recognised because he thought it was what anyone would do.

"I hope to keep seeing Gary around," he said.

Horsham paramedic Jarrod Hunter was one of the first paramedics on the scene.

He said it was one of the most interesting rescues he had been involved in.

"It was certainly a first for me," he said. "Only 25.8 per cent of people we attend to who have had a cardiac arrest are discharged from hospital, but when we arrived and saw bystanders doing CPR we thought he might have a better chance.

"That CPR in the minutes before our arrival is vital."

Mr Hunter said he had to continue giving Mr De Wit CPR as he was lowered to the ground in the front-end loader.

He said the rescue and outcome was a great career moment for him.

"It's a once in a lifetime. This is what we do all our training and work for - to see someone go back to their family - it makes it all worth it," he said.

Mr De Wit said he would return to work but he would continue to take medication for his heart.

"As soon as I can I'll be back on the roof," he said.

Mr De Wit said he had been overwhelmed with messages of support from people in the community and thanked those who sent cards.