By Lia Bichel
A MOTHER of a six-year-old boy who nearly died earlier this month has praised paramedics and hospital staff for their outstanding work.
Berwick resident Felicia, who asked not to print her last name, said she was amazed by how efficient and informative the paramedics from Ambulance Victoria and nurses and doctors from Dandenong Hospital were after her son, Haddon, fell through his bedroom window on 1 August.
Felicia said she thought her son was going to die when she saw him lying in the grass outside his shattered bedroom window bleeding heavily.
“When I saw the amount of blood coming out of him I honestly thought I was going to lose him.
“It was horrific and I don’t think any parent would want to see that,” she said.
Felicia said she picked up her son and took him to the bathroom, where she tried to slow down the bleeding and keep her son conscious until paramedics arrived.
“His blood soaked through three towels before paramedics arrived.
“Haddon was slipping in and out of consciousness and I was basically yelling at him to stay with me,” she said.
“I couldn’t move because I didn’t want to stop relieving pressure.”
Felicia said her oldest son and two of her friends were magnificent in helping out during the ordeal as was the emergency services.
“The paramedics were sensational. I couldn’t speak more highly of them and the work they did,” she said.
“Once we arrived at the Dandenong Hospital a trauma team was on standby and they assessed him quickly and took him into surgery right away.
“I waited for eight hours but the staff kept me informed every hour, which they didn’t have to do but it made it easier for me to cope.”
Haddon had severed many arteries under his right arm and had to remain in hospital for five nights.
His right arm is in a cast but he can wiggle his fingers and move his arm and he has returned to school.
Doctors will not be able to tell for about 12 more months if Haddon will have any lasting nerve damage.
Intensive care paramedic David Kervin said Felicia also did a fantastic job during the ordeal.
“The mother was very cool-headed and with the guidance of the Triple-zero call taker, she was providing excellent first aid by using towels to try and slow the bleeding,” Mr Kervin said.
Felicia said she had completed a first-aid course many years ago and encouraged other parents to take a course and warn their children about the dangers of playing near windows.
“If I hadn’t done the course years ago, I probably wouldn’t have been aware of what I should do,” she said.
“One of the surgeons told me if I didn’t try to stop the blood, Haddon would have died.”
