Ready to save a life?

Who couldn’t help but be moved by the story of little Emily Wagstaff in the Herald on Sunday today?

Nor shiver when considering seven young children, aged under 5, died in preventable drownings last year.

Emily was saved by what Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter emergency doctor Jono Wills calls a “chain of survival”. That is, each of the people who responded to Emily’s plight did exactly the right thing.

From the moment her mother, Amy, saw her inert body in the water, through to the paediatric intensive care unit at Starship, it’s a salutary lesson in prevention and what actions are needed.

We believe it’s an essential read, beginning with Emily’s innocent curiosity leading her into the family’s new pool. For anyone tempted to rush to judge her parents, your time would be better spent analysing your environment for any possibility a child could find water. Prevention is critical.

Amy’s immediate act of leaping to Emily’s aid was exactly right. Seconds count.

Her father Ivan’s applications of first aid were also crucial. Mouth-to-mouth got Emily breathing, restoring lifesustaining oxygen. “They saved her, simple as that,” Wills says.

Emily’s survival then depended on the professionalism of our emergency services — the ambulance officers, volunteer firefighters, rescue helicopter crew and hospital staff — who seized on the chance to save this wee girl.

Without Emily’s parents doing exactly the right thing, they may well never have had that chance.

Too often we cover stories which do not have such joyous outcomes. Each time, we quote experts who share advice on what should and shouldn’t have happened.

In this exultant rather than tragic case, the messages are clear: take all the precautions possible to safeguard children from water and learn basic first aid. If something is wrong, act fast.

As we said, who would not be moved by Emily’s narrow escape? May it move all of us to make a safer environment and learn first aid for our little ones.

For the next Emily.