Refuse worker saves toddler’s life just weeks after completing first aid training
A refuse worker who was on his daily rounds in Middlesbrough was able to save a little girl’s life after she suffered a fit, by giving her emergency first aid.
Paul Thompson, 34, had completed a first aid training course just weeks before the incident occurred on June 9th, 2011. He was emptying bins on Melsonby Avenue in Middlesbrough when local woman Anne Tierney ran out of the house carrying her two-year-old granddaughter Farrah Appleby, who had suffered a seizure.
Using the skills he learnt during his recent first aid course, Mr Thompson was able to act fast and resuscitate Farrah, who had fallen unconscious after the fit. He describes what happened:
“The little girl was purple in the face so I put her in the recovery position.
“Her tongue was blocking her airways so I moved it out of the way and she gasped for air – I was relieved because I had forgotten how to do compressions in all the panic.”
Farrah is now fully recovered from her frightening ordeal, and her family have praised Mr Thompson for his quick thinking and rapid response to the emergency situation.