Kintsugi Heroes
Philip Basche · 33 min
After surviving a record-breaking seven-bypass heart operation at 51, Philip Basche discovered that friendship, exercise, and giving back are not just life enrichers — they are life savers.
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At 51, Philip Basche survived what turned out to be the largest heart bypass operation on record at St. Vincent's Hospital in Sydney: seven bypasses in a single five-hour surgery. He had no memory of the massive heart attack that preceded it. Twenty-two years later, at 73, he is still here, still working, still showing up for the people around him. What kept him alive was not the surgery itself, but what he chose to do with the time that followed.
Philip's early life was marked by loss. His father, absent through alcoholism, died when Philip was 14. His older brother, who became a father figure to him, died of cancer when Philip was 21. Those losses might have defined him, but instead, the friends who supported him through that grief became his lifelong family. When he faced his heart diagnosis decades later, those same friendships, people he had known since age nine, people who stood as his best man and groomsman, became his anchor. A phone call to four close friends from an ICU in Finland changed everything. His mood shifted. He understood, for the first time with absolute clarity, how much he needed them.
Since then, Philip has built a life around the people and practices that saved him. He exercises consistently, a habit he started at 30 and has never let slip. He married Katrina, who chose to stay by his side even when he told her to leave after his diagnosis. He began giving back: through a not-for-profit board in the late 1990s, where a teacher taught him that respect is the single word young people without support systems need to hear; through mentoring; through Lifeline crisis support work that he initially refused until a trainer told him it would change his life. It did. His advice is simple: talk about it, reach out, ask for help, and do not hide.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
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Kintsugi Heroes · Registered Australian not-for-profit · kintsugiheroes.com.au ↗