Durban - A mother whose son nearly died from drowning has learned the importance of knowing how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Richards Bay mother Amanda Kruger said on October 15 last year her son, Juandre, 4, nearly drowned in the family swimming pool.
She was looking for the then 3-year-old at her home, but could not find him inside the house. Kruger saw a door was open and rushed outside, fearing the worst.
“When I saw Juandre in the swimming pool, I kept hoping he was okay, even though he was already floating face-down in the water. When I pulled him out, his eyes were big, his lips and the bottom of his feet were blue - he was effectively dead.”
A frantic Kruger called for help and a tenant who stays with her responded. They rushed Juandre to hospital.
“We thought he was not going to make it and kept praying,” she said. It took doctors and nurses at The Bay Hospital’s emergency department between 30 to 40 minutes to resuscitate the toddler.
This was not the end of their troubles though, as they went through a roller-coaster of emotions. “His condition was so serious, every week there was another complication,” Kruger said.
Initial brain scans showed Juandre had suffered brain damage.
Richard Schouten, operations manager of the Netcare 911 base at the hospital said: “Medically speaking, I thought this child was going to be in a vegetative state, because initially it seemed that he did not react to any stimulus,” and he did not think Jaundre would fully recover, he recalled.
The boy was taken to Parklands Hospital in Durban in November and a rehabilitation facility in December for further treatment.
Things, however, improved as another scan on December 10 showed that there was nothing abnormal in Jaundre’s brain. “I was quietly, silently hopeful, but not expecting such an incredible recovery. For me, Juandre’s story was a great motivator, as his recovery reaffirmed the value of the work we do. Success stories like this make working in emergency medical services very rewarding,” Schouten said.
Kruger says she believes her son’s almost miraculous recovery can be attributed to prayer and good medical care.
She referred to medical professionals who treated her son as “God’s angels”.
The experience has taught her an invaluable lesson, though.
“Knowing how to perform CPR and first aid is very important. I always thought I would not need it, and that bad things would not happen to me, but after pulling my son out of the swimming pool and knowing there was nothing I could do for him but pray, I now know differently.
“I will never forget that feeling of total helplessness,” Kruger said.
Her son had returned to being his old self, she said.
Schouten also said: “CPR and basic first aid are absolute musts which often mean the difference between life and death.”
Daily News
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.