Warwickshire engineer saves teenager’s life
A 17-year-old teenager’s life has been saved by a Warwickshire engineer thanks to his first aid training.
Steve Garry is working with Warwickshire County Council’s design services through the ARUP Partnership and he was yesterday visiting a resident in Alcester Road, Stratford, to discuss problems with drainage.
While the conversation was going on outside the man’s home, Steve noticed the 17-year-old collapse on the opposite pavement, and realised something was very wrong. He asked the local resident to call an ambulance and ran across the road.
He said: “As I arrived I could see the young man was convulsing, and then very quickly assessed that his breathing had stopped and that there was no pulse.
“I’ve had several first aid training courses, as my work can take me to some pretty remote locations, but this is the first time I’d been called on to use it.
“I immediately began mouth to mouth and cardiac massage, it felt like an eternity, another woman also then helped me as it was hard to keep both the massage and mouth to mouth going.
“The air ambulance arrived and the medics took over. My details were taken and I had a phonecall yesterday to say he had stabilised and one this morning to say that he was conscious and sitting up and talking in bed. Which is great news.
“It seems incredible that I was there at just the right time with all the training I’ve had. The boy’s breathing and heart had stopped. It hasn’t really sunk in yet what happened, it was just very lucky.”
Steve, aged 55 and living in Bromsgrove, says there’s nothing he’d like better now than to meet up with the 17-year-old and see how he is doing.