Girl saves aunt two weeks after training in first aid
A TEENAGER saved her aunt from choking on a piece of cake thanks to first aid training she was given just two weeks beforehand.
Beth Cromarty, 15, has been hailed as a hero after she jumped into action with her “life-saving” skills.
Her aunt, Jemma Landels, started choking after she swallowed a piece of cake whole and struggled to breath.
Beth had just completed first aid training and managed to dislodge the cake from Ms Landels’s windpipe with abdominal thrusts and back blows.
The teenager, of Eyemouth, Berwickshire, has now been nominated for a Young Hero Of The Year gong at the Scottish First Aid Awards.
Jemma, a florist in Eyemouth, said: “We had sat down to enjoy a coffee and piece of cake in my shop.
“It got stuck in my throat, and I swallowed the cake whole.
“I completely lost my breath and couldn’t make a noise. It was a horrible experience.
“But Beth remembered the first aid training she had been on two weeks previously and rushed to help me.
“She gave me five back blows and was about to do abdominal thrusts, but thankfully the cake got dislodged.
“She says she would not have known what to do without the first aid training.
“I think her training proved life-saving.”
Beth, who attends Eyemouth High School, has now been shortlisted for the title of Young Hero Of The Year at the awards in Glasgow next month.
Ms Landels, 37, said: “She has since talked to her peers about the training and encouraged them to take the course.
“The response team is so proud of Beth, as am I as her aunt.
“The incident has brought her out of her shell as she was a shy girl before.
“The awards night is on Beth’s 16th birthday, so whether she wins or not, it will be a great night.”
The first aid training sessions have been led by Scottish Ambulance Service community first responder Martin Galloway, of Coldingham.
He has also been nominated for a Scottish First Aid Award in the community first aid champion section. Ms Landels, coordinator for the Eyemouth response team, says it plans to hold a number of other first aid training dates.
She added: “The training offers basic skills but can make a real difference.”