Two of the youngest members of St John Ambulance Cymru’s Carmarthen Division recently put the first aid skills they learned with the charity to work when their grandad was injured at home.
Menna and Bronwen were being looked after by their grandad when he had a small fall and cut his head. Luckily, the pair were prepared to help, having recently completed a First Aid Badger module with their local Badger Sett.
Following the steps they had learned in their Badger sessions, they remained calm, called their dad to tell them their grandad was injured, stayed with him until their dad came home and recognised they’d need to unlock the door so their dad could enter the house.
The girls’ parents Daniel Elias and Jemma Laurence, who both work in healthcare roles, are also St John Ambulance Cymru volunteers and have taught the children to ring them in the event of any problems and only ring 999 in emergencies.
Following the incident, Daniel said: “They both stayed really calm, rang me and were completely calm telling me what had happened. Bronwen said Menna was putting pressure on the cut and had even unlocked the door for me before I got there.
“I gave the cut a quick clean and applied some steri-strips with Menna’s help whilst Bronwen instructed me on what to do and we were away to go.
“I cannot be prouder of them for what they have learnt in Badgers and how calm they both were in what must have been quite a stressful situation for such young people.
“We’re grateful for the fantastic work of the Badger Leaders, teaching our future generations first aid and how to deal with emergencies.”
St John Ambulance Cymru’s Badger groups are for children aged 5-11 years old. While they cover first aid subjects, they also learn about a range of other topics including outer space and communication.
Donna Jones, who leads the St John ambulance Cymru Badgers in Carmarthen, said: “We are so delighted to hear of their quick thinking and sensible, calm response in a real-life situation.
“We presented them both with their own little Badger during our next session. Whilst they were both shocked and humble, we felt it was really important to acknowledge how smart they were on that day and how proud we are of them.”
To find out more about St John Ambulance Cymru’s Child and Young People programmes, including Badgers (for 5-11 year olds) and Cadets (for 11-15 year olds) please visit www.sjacymru.org.uk/young-people.
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