Mum saves son with CPR

By Kath Gannaway
A MOTHER revived her five-year-old son by applying cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after the boy drowned in a pool in Gruyere last week.
Metropolitan Ambulance Service (MAS) spokesman Phil Cullen said the boy was unconscious and not breathing when the mother, who did not want to be identified, pulled him from the pool about 2.30pm on Tuesday, 9 January.
“The mother and child were out at the pool when she found her son at the bottom of the pool and dragged him out,” Mr Cullen said.
He said the woman brought her son back to life.
“He was blue and cold, unconscious and not breathing and to her credit she has swung into action and given her son CPR,” Mr Cullen said.
He said the woman worked on her son for several minutes before he regained consciousness.
The boy was flown by air ambulance to the Royal Children’s Hospital where he was admitted in a serious but stable condition.
A spokesperson for the hospital said the boy was released the next night.
Mr Cullen said the outcome could have been very different.
“If not for his mum, first of all finding him and getting him out of the pool, then, crucially, knowing what to do by calling an ambulance and performing CPR, this could have had a very different ending,” he said.
“Instead, she has given her son another chance … brought him back to life.”
Mr Cullen said the family’s ordeal highlighted how dangerous water could be, but also showed how important supervision was and how effective CPR could be.
The MAS runs first-aid courses which include CPR.
Phone 1800 248 859 for more information.