When Lynne Marshall fell three metres and split her head open, she was lucky the stranger who rushed to her aid had completed a first aid course and knew the right things to do.
24-year-old Charlie McNaughton and his flatmates were walking at Takapuna Beach when they heard Ms Marshall's 8-year-old daughter scream. Mr McNaughton credits a two-day first aid course for knowing what to do next.
Mr McNaughton checked Ms Marshall was breathing, pulled his T-shirt off and held it to her head to stop air getting to her wound. He also instructed someone to call an ambulance, got his flatmates to find the nearest street so they had an address and took care to only move Ms Marshall slightly, in case she had injured her neck or back.
St John arrived about 15 minutes after the fall. Ms Marshall was taken to Auckland Hospital where she stayed for a week and then spent another week recovering at a brain injury rehabilitation centre. "I want to thank that man, and everyone else who helped; I might not be here if it wasn't for you," she said.
MediTrain offers a number of first aid courses throughout Tauranga, Hamilton and Auckland, including workplace, childcare, basic first aid, CPR and surf lifesaving first aid courses.
