MY DADDY IS MY HERO!
Matt Lumby risked his life f to rescue a man from f a monster shark – and no one is prouder than his little girl
ittle Mia Lumby is just 22 months old, but she already has a favourite hero, and he’s no cartoon character – it’s her dad Matt Lumby.
Matt, an experienced surf lifesaver, was celebrating the Australia Day long weekend with his wife Kylie, 34, and an excited Mia at Lake Macquarie when he heard someone yelling nearby.
“Out of nowhere, I heard someone splashing madly and loud guttural moans – I knew something was wrong,” Matt tells Woman’s Day from his hometown beach of Towradgi on the NSW South Coast. “Kylie yelled out to me to run, and when I got to the location, about 30 metres offshore, there was a bloke in all sorts of strife. Then I heard someone scream, ‘SHARK SHARK!’... I took off and swam faster than Ian Thorpe – my only goal was to get out there and rescue him.”
GRIM SCENE
Jumping into action Matt, 32, raced to assist retired marine scientist Rick Burbury, 58, who was visiting the lake with his wife Julie, who is a doctor. Reaching an injured Rick, Matt describes the moment like a scene from the film Jaws.
“I saw his left arm, and let’s just say it was beyond severe lacerations – it was pretty grim,” says Matt, taking in a couple of deep breaths before revealing more extraordinary details of the rescue.
“Julie was at his side by the time I got there. I told them
I was a lifesaver – I started pulling him to shore in a special one-person carry. I never once gave a thought the shark might come for me – this was all about getting him to safety.”
Calling out to bystanders for a belt to create a tourniquet and a first-aid kit, Matt, with the help of Julie and Kylie, was able to pull Rick to shore.
“There was a lot of blood – that’s an image I can never unsee,” he says.
“If there is to be any silver lining, how lucky was he to have a trained lifesaver and a medical doctor on the scene!”
Matt was able to apply pressure on Rick’s artery further up the arm using the leather belt and was able to block the bleeding with his thumb.
“A bystander had called triple zero, and after what seemed like a lifetime, five first responders arrived – they couldn’t believe what they saw and told me to just keep doing what I was doing,” says Matt, grateful for all the years of first-aid training he’s acquired.
For Kylie, amid all the drama, she smiles at one funny moment she will never forget.
“Matt was being attacked by horse flies, and Rick piped up and said, ‘Mate, stop complaining about being bitten by horseflies – I just got bitten by a shark!’” she recalls.
“We’re so proud of Matt –
I get why surf lifesaving is so close to his heart.”
Just as proud is young Mia, who is so amazed her dad isn’t frightened of anything – not even a monster shark! When asked if her daddy is her hero after his courageous rescue efforts, the little girl smiles and nods emphatically.
While Rick continues to recover after being rushed to the John Hunter Hospital via ambulance helicopter, Matt and Kylie look forward to the day they can be reunited with the man whose life they helped save.
‘I never once gave a thought the shark might come for me’